Are Cubera Snapper Making a Comeback in Costa Rica?

On The Water With Fecop

by Todd Staley, published for Coastal Angler Costa Rica Edition

The other day I saw something that will be embedded in my mind forever. I was tossing a MirrOlure in 25 feet of water and a humongous cubera snapper appeared behind the lure, turned on its side, and cruised under the boat. Everyone onboard saw it, and all were seasoned snapper fishermen. All estimated the fish at between 90 and 100 pounds. My son Sharley was soaking a butterflied goggle-eye next to me and he felt something inhale his bait and set the hook. Braided line burned off the reel. We all knew this monster had eaten his bait. Almost as quickly as it started it was over when the line parted. For me it was one of those sweet holy-crap moments we have while fishing, but poor Sharley will have nightmares about the one that got away for a very long time.

I have a Toby Keith outlook on life. I am not as good as I once was, but I am as good once as I always was. As I cruise into the world of senior discounts, I would much rather take someone to catch their first marlin, or tarpon, rather than pull on another one myself. But not snapper! I love that fish. It is a freight train with a stick of dynamite in its keester. They are a brutal relatively short battle and the fish wins half of the time. They will take a live or dead bait or jig, and absolutely crush a topwater poppers.

I was a spoiled kid when as Fishing Director at Crocodile Bay, every time I got the urge to wet a line, I just jumped in a boat from the fleet and went fishing. Today, working at Fecop, I am often in meetings talking about fish, rather than chasing them. I’ve been out three times recently and each time we caught and released a cubera snapper over 30 pounds, keeping a couple smaller Pacific yellowtail snapper for dinner.

In scientific terms it is way too early to tell but are cubera snapper making a comeback?

A Couple of Positive Actions.

First, we sport fishers and especially the artisanal fleet know how bad the shrimp fleets were beating up all species of bottom fish. When you have a technique of trawling where up to 90% of the total catch is bycatch of juvenile fish species, it makes for a drastic toll on fish populations.

Shrimping has been banned in Costa Rica, but the court battles continue, and the last license expired last year.The second positive thing is the attitude of sport fishing captains. More and more are going to catch and release on cubera snapper, especially the big breeder fish. Social media sites are seeing more and more photos and video clips of anglers sending big snappers back to their haunts.

The New Smart Fishing App by Fecop is Now Available for FREE Download!

PezCA App is Online

A great tool for fishermen, the tourism industry, and communities in general, with pezCA you can:

• Access near real time maps of satellite data for the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans along Central America (0-19°N, 76.5-96°W) and get data values for your points of interest.

• View the bathymetry and get bottom depth readings.

• Overlay high-resolution satellite sea surface temperature and surface chlorophyll concentrations and get data for your points of interest, even while offline.

• View maps with the latest speed and direction of the ocean currents, the depth of the thermocline, and sea level anomalies.• Access forecasts for tides and moon phases.

• Review facts on the most common fish species in the region, including sizes, reproductive periods, and fishing information.• Review local laws and regulations.

• Purchase your Costa Rica sport fishing license online• Stay up to date on everything that’s happening with real-time notifications of weather events, red tides, fishing bans, tournaments, etc.

• Download Free Apple App store or Google Play. If you have questions or need additional information, please visit fecop.org or pezca.org

Todd Staley has managed sportfishing operations in Costa Rica for 25 years. He has been involved with FECOP since its inception and is former President of the group and was co-recipient of IGFA’s Chester H. Wolfe award in 2015 for his conservation efforts in Costa Rica.

He is currently Fishing Columnist for the Tico Times and works full-time with FECOP as Director of Communications. Contact Todd at todd@fecop.org