As a kid, I wanted to go offshore fishing more than anything else.

There was something about running west past Bean Point with the sun rising at our backs that I couldn’t get enough of.

Every trip, the mysteries of the deep solidified my love of fishing.

My dad and brother were always there, along with various friends who also loved to fish offshore. Our trips revolved around grouper, and we’d fish between 40 and 100 feet of water. On a good day, we’d bring home a few grouper per person.

Fast forward to the present. We still fish the same spots and catch more grouper now than in the recent past. Not only are we catching more grouper, but the average size is larger.

For instance, we have a spot about 6 miles out of Bean Point. It’s 40 feet deep, a small rock ledge, maybe 80 feet long. We used to go there, catch a few gags and move on. The last two years, this place has been loaded with gag grouper.

I have found many of our shallower spots like this. They used to produce a few fish, and now certain spots produce limits in one stop.

We’re not fishing any differently; I just know there are more fish in shallower depths now than anytime in the recent past. Most of these fish are gag grouper avoiding competition from aggressive red snapper in deeper depths. But despite pleas from fishermen, gag grouper and red snapper will once again be limited to a short season in 2012.

On Wednesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission decided to keep the gag grouper season closed until July 1. The original gag grouper season was set to open April 1, along with the season for most other grouper species. This decision only exacerbates the frustration felt by anglers around the state who also have experienced an increase in gag grouper catches in shallower depths.

In a press release, the FWC said, “The following changes will make state gag grouper management efforts the same as recent federal gag grouper management efforts in the Gulf of Mexico: setting the recreational open season from July 1 through Oct. 31 and lowering the minimum commercial size limit from 24 inches to 22 inches total length.”

You read that correctly, the commercial size limit will be decreasing from 24 to 22 inches.

“I think we have to be sensitive to the economic side and the natural resource side,” Commissioner Charles W. Roberts III said. “I don’t think there is anybody here who would like to jeopardize gag grouper. This isn’t an easy decision. We have to rely on the data we have available and make good decisions.”

Using the data available, the FWC determined that gag grouper are being overfished. The old system, or Marine Recreational Statistical Survey (MRFSS), has come under scrutiny, only to be replaced by a new statistical method of counting catches.

With the new system, the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP), anglers will be called or met at docks. Based on their reported catch, NOAA would get a general estimate on average catch. They would then multiply the reported catch out by the assumed number of anglers fishing and get the “total catch” of anglers. This is the system that has determined red snapper and gag grouper being overfished. I’ve yet to meet someone who has been called in one of these surveys. If you have, please contact me.

According to the MRIP, here is the total catch by Gulf Floridians of gag grouper since 2004. These catches were adjusted from the old MRFSS:

n 2004: 4,554,508 pounds.

n 2005: 2,805,349 pounds.

n 2006: 2,231,996 pounds.

n 2007: 2,960,891 pounds

n 2008: 3,224,113 pounds.

n 2009: 1,368,656 pounds.

n 2010: 1,601,120 pounds.

n 2011: 528,836 pounds.

With shorter seasons and tighter limits each year, anglers have been allowed to keep fewer and fewer grouper despite the increase in fish anglers have seen. Last year’s two-month season severely limited the amount of fish kept.

What is most frustrating for anglers is that science in Colorado is being used to determine something they come in contact with every trip. If anglers report good catches, then it is determined they are taking more of the resource than necessary. If they report poor catches, then it is assumed the stock of fish is down and tighter regulations are needed to rebuild fish stocks.

This lose/lose situation for anglers has been very apparent with red snapper.

Based on the same recalculations of MRIP, here is the total catch of red snapper by Gulf Coast Floridians:

n 2004: 2,876,988 pounds

n 2005: 1,845,535 pounds

n 2006: 1,974,608 pounds

n 2007: 2,667,764 pounds

n 2008: 1,874,106 pounds

n 2009: 2,107,563 pounds

n 2010: 1,350,391 pounds

n 2011: 1,388,701 pounds

In 2011, the season was only 48 days. That means the average person would get at most 14 days (seven weekends) to head offshore for red snapper. Even with perfect weather, that is not much time for what is now one of the most populated reef fish offshore.

“It’s been very frustrating for the average angler, particularly with red snapper, because they are seeing so many snapper while out on the water -- so when the season is short it seems counter-intuitive. But what they’re seeing out there is what we expect to see when a rebuilding plan is successful. It’s a good sign, we’re just not there yet,” a representative from the Gulf Council told me.

When I asked about the season for 2012, the representative was not even sure. “We know the season will open June 1; however, we are waiting for NOAA fisheries to advise on when the season will close. They cannot provide that information until they have the landings data. So we’re looking at late April, early May before we know for sure what the season will be.

“The Council, at its meeting last week, did approve a regulatory amendment that will increase the 2012 red snapper Annual Catch Limit to 8.080 million pounds, which equates to a 3.959 million pound recreational quota. That amendment will be submitted to the secretary of commerce for approval and implementation.”

Last year’s total for recreational anglers was 3.66 million pounds. However, this slight increase may not mean a longer season if it is determined the average fish size is larger. What will determine the length of the season is how fast the Gulf Council feels Gulf of Mexico anglers will meet the catch total. So as anglers report greater catches, they will be given an even shorter season.

As recreational anglers for 2012, it means short seasons for both red snapper and gag grouper. Red snapper will open on June 1, with no set closing date yet. Gag grouper will be open July 1 until Oct. 31. Until then, many offshore boats will be left tied to the dock or on trailers.

To read more about the new MRIP counting, visit countmyfish.noaa.gov. If you’d like to leave input, you can email gulfcouncil@gulfcouncil.org.

Capt. Jon Chapman, who writes Outdoors for the Herald, can be reached at his website, www.captainchappy.com.