GULF SHORES, Ala. - The red snapper issue could be helped by  tacking it onto another bill, which would be helpful to fishing on the Gulf Coast, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) told a trio of advocates in Washingtron.

  The three were in Washington last week to push for legislation to allow red snapper fishing on the Gulf  Coast  beyond the prescribed June 1-Aug. 5 schedule.They are sports fisherman Tom Steber,   scientist at Dauphin Island Sea Lab Dr. Bob Shipp, and commercial fisherman Donny Waters.

  The trio did not return with an agreement to allow snapper fishing year-round, but they got the assurance from Shelby  that the snapper issue may be tacked on to another bill. Steber has always contended that Washington does not understand the snapper issue.

  He says  the snapper is not endangered, and that they’re becoming more numerous as our artificial reefs grow.

Steber says that the snapper is a tasty fish, but so is the trigger. “We won’t always be fishing for snapper and certainly not year-round,” he said.

  “In the fall there’s the white marlin, the speckled trout in November and December, and the big bull reds in January and February.” Before the trip to Washington, Steber regarded immediate congressional action as a quick fix, but in the long run, “we need to keep writing our congressmen and tell them that with the artificial reefs, we’re building an unlimited supply of fish.

  With the snapper and other predators, we need reefs so that other species can grow up to maturity.” Steber said that local tournaments are providing funds for reef building, and the fishing industry thereby is self-perpetuating. With the artificial reefs here and the oil rigs from Fort Morgan to Mexico, the area is in the fishing business.

  Just west of The Wharf on the canal is a very large artificial reef-building industry owned by Dave Walter.