A move to raise the daily creel limit on redfish from three to five per person has received opposition from many sport fishermen and the Coastal Conservation Association of South Carolina.
The bill, H.3898, co-sponsored by Rep. Bill Bowers (D-Colleton/Hampton) and Rep. Robert Brown (D-Charleston/Colleton), was introduced in the House on March 9 and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs, where opponents say it should stay.
“CCA of South Carolina is opposed to this bill, both in concept and in reality, as there is no science to back the fundamentals of increasing the limit back to five fish,” said Tom Milliken Jr. of Columbia, CCA’s government relations chairman.
Redfish, or spot-tail bass, were almost wiped out due to overfishing in the 1980s. CCA was a driving force in efforts to reduce the limit on redfish to two fish per day some years ago and has opposed efforts to increase the limit. An angler-sponsored on-line petition opposing the bill drew more than 200 signatures within a few days.
South Carolina is one of the few states where politicians directly drive fisheries management decisions. A few years ago the legislature raised the limit back to three fish per day.
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