I have deliberately avoided entering this fray. I have strong feelings on both sides of the issue, as well as knowing Ric for many years. Ric (and obviously Rick) are both good fishermen. I'd also comment that, even though there are 7 or 8 fish laying there on the dock, they're still within legal limits. Mexican fishing regulations specifically state a total of 10 fish, no more than 5 of any one species. Dorado, billfish and sharks are calculated differently - in essence, each one counts as five fish. This is per licensed angler, not per boat. Technically, they are perfectly within their rights to have kept the fish. Morally? That's a whole different subject and something everybody should decide for themselves.
I have taken black seabass and I have taken grouper. I've never taken a full limit of either and feel lucky if I catch one or two now and then. Usually, I have more grouper break off than what I actually get in the boat. They can be a difficult fish to catch because of their sheer size and power. They shred line and tear up tackle. Catching one gives you quite a work out.
I don't want to see either of them black-listed as a no-catch. However, I would like to see the take limited to only one; all others must be released. Because grouper are caught in shallower water, there is not as much of a decompression problem as with the black sea bass, which are generally caught on much deeper reefs. Pull up a large black at the 51 and it's dead when it hits the surface. We have actually released smaller blacks and they seem to head back down and make it just fine. We've never been able to successfully release a large black. We've also released grouper at the boat (some release themselves!) and they swim right back down no problem.
So, if anything, I'd say go catch some fish, but only keep one or two grouper, not seven or eight just because you can. I personally release all billfish I catch and it pains me to see a dead billfish hanging at the dock just because somebody wanted a picture or a trophy. I don't criticize anybody for it, again, it's within their right to do so. Where I do get upset is seeing someone totally flaunt the limits or keep ANY fish that comes in the boat. Guys bragging about catching over a 100 fish and when I ask them what kind, they don't know (it was triggers) but they're certainly proud about slaying over 100 of them. That's just absolutely disgusting to me.
