Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 693 is a conversation with David Moss, the Florida fisheries project manager for The Nature Conservancy, who works on fisheries issues across the Atlantic and Gulf. His main project, Deck to Depth, is a descending-device outreach effort focused on the snapper-grouper fishery, the suite of species hit hardest by barotrauma. We dig into why so many released snapper and grouper never make it back down, how a simple tool can fix that, and why dead discards are the real reason red snapper seasons keep shrinking.
Listen now: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · or press play in the player above.
David Moss is the fisheries project manager for The Nature Conservancy in Florida, focused on fisheries issues across the Southeast in both the Atlantic and the Gulf. He leads a descending-device outreach project called Deck to Depth that helps recreational anglers release snapper and grouper alive after catch.
Barotrauma is an injury similar to the bends in a scuba diver. When a deep-water fish like a snapper or grouper is reeled up too quickly, the gases in its swim bladder expand, which can leave the fish unable to swim back down on its own. David explains that the snapper-grouper species are one of the only suites of fish that suffer from this condition.
A descending device is a tool that carries a barotrauma-affected fish back down to depth and releases it, allowing the swim bladder gases to recompress so the fish can survive. David's Deck to Depth project promotes their use, and in federal waters more than three miles out, anglers fishing for snapper and grouper are required to have a descending device rigged and ready on the vessel.
David explains that the number one reason for the shortened, sometimes nearly nonexistent red snapper season in the South Atlantic is dead discards. Red snapper have one of the higher release-mortality rates, around 25 percent, meaning that for every ten fish caught and released, roughly two and a half do not survive. Reducing that mortality with descending devices is central to rebuilding the fishery.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization that protects lands and waters. In the Southeast it has done extensive oyster restoration, including in the Mosquito Lagoon area, and has historically managed remote sites like Palmyra Atoll. Its newer finfish work in Florida, led by David, focuses on the snapper-grouper fishery and reducing release mortality.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 693 with David Moss is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
Conservation gets talked about in big, vague terms, and that is exactly why I wanted David on. His work is the opposite of vague. He runs a Nature Conservancy project built around one specific, solvable problem: deep-water snapper and grouper dying after release. As an angler who has watched plenty of red snapper float off after a release, I have lived this problem. David has a fix, and he can explain the science behind it without making your eyes glaze over.
Press play in the player above to hear the whole conversation.
David gives the clearest explanation of barotrauma I have heard. When you reel a snapper or grouper up too fast from depth, the gases in its swim bladder expand, like the bends in a scuba diver, and the fish physically cannot swim back down. He explains why this suite of species is uniquely vulnerable and what it actually looks like at the surface. If you have ever wondered why that fish would not go back down, this is the answer. Listen to the opening of the episode.
This is the heart of David's Deck to Depth project. A descending device carries the fish back down to depth, where the pressure recompresses the swim bladder and the fish swims off healthy. He explains how they work, why they beat older venting methods, and the fact that in federal waters beyond three miles, you are now required to have one rigged and ready. It is one of the easiest conservation wins in fishing. Hear him break it down in the player above.
David connects the dots in a way that surprised me. The number one reason the South Atlantic red snapper season has been cut to almost nothing, he says, is dead discards. He puts a number on it: red snapper carry roughly a 25 percent release mortality, so about two and a half of every ten you release do not survive. Understanding that math changes how you think about every fish you let go. Listen to that section of the episode.
David also walks through the broader Nature Conservancy work, and it is more hands-on than people realize. He talks about extensive oyster restoration around the state, including the Mosquito Lagoon area, and we get into the organization's history with remote sites like Palmyra Atoll. It is a useful picture of how a big conservation group operates at ground level. Press play in the player above.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or watch in the player at the top of this page.
What I appreciate about David is that he gave me something I can act on the next time I am offshore. Carry a descending device, use it, and a fish that would have died gets to live and spawn again.
The red snapper math stuck with me. We do not always think of a release as a loss, but if a quarter of them are dying, our releases are part of the problem, and the fix is sitting right there on the deck.
Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 693 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
David Moss · The Nature Conservancy · Deck to Depth Project · South Atlantic Fishery Management Council · Snapper-Grouper Fishery · Mosquito Lagoon · Palmyra Atoll · FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
David Moss is the fisheries project manager for The Nature Conservancy in Florida, where he focuses on fisheries issues across the Southeast in both the Atlantic and the Gulf. He leads the Deck to Depth descending-device outreach project, which works to reduce release mortality in the snapper-grouper fishery by helping anglers return barotrauma-affected fish safely to depth. His work sits within The Nature Conservancy's broader Southeast efforts, which include extensive oyster restoration, and he is focused on the practical, science-based steps that recreational anglers can take to keep deep-water fisheries healthy.
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