Redfish numbers are increasing in the Lower Laguna Madre.

The steady rise has prompted Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) marine biologists to consider adding a fish to the daily limit.
 
“Redfish are doing really well throughout the country, especially here in Texas and the Lower Laguna Madre,” said TPWD Ecosystem Leader Mark Lingo. “We are seeing populations double what they were back in the 1980’s.”
 
Since ending the commercial harvest decades ago and with a current limit of three reds per day per recreational angler, the popular game fish has rebounded dramatically.
 
“The department has tried twice in the past five or six years to give back a redfish to the public and public sentiment has not been in favor of that up to this point, but under current conditions we believe it might be time the public is ready for this,” Lingo said.
 
Local fishermen have mixed reaction to the proposal, some are for it and others opposed. 

Many, like Capt. Chuck Fultz of Harlingen, are happy with the limits as they stand and believe increased fishing pressure will keep redfish numbers in check.
 
“I see in the next five years the fishing pressure increasing, doubling probably,” Fultz said. “Every year there is that many more fishermen.”
 
But Lingo with (TPWD) said redfish populations can endure increasing the daily limit.

“The fish are out there, the population can withstand another take, and we think it is a good idea for the public to use the resource,” Lingo said.
 
If supported by anglers and approved by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission, an increase in the limit from three to four reds per day would not go into effect until September of 2010.