Panama City Beach, Fla. -
Amberjack season is open for business; the big fish earned its title as the reef's donkey for its size and strength.
On Wednesday afternoon, boaters and fishermen looked to see who caught the most amberjack. Some were lucky enough to reel one in, but others felt unlucky.
Unlucky can also be used to describe the way fishermen felt too. The group is fighting regulations passed down by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration; it's the agency that keeps restricting this ailing industry.
"We go to the meetings and put our comments in and we just hope things would get better as far as the regulations and all that." Alicia Paul says.
Paul's boat stayed docked at the marina on Wednesday afternoon, she says she's hoping she can book more trips during the amberjack season. "You know with the groupers being open too, that helps us out a lot, but the amberjacks are definitely going to keep us going another month or two."
This is the second year amberjack were off limits during the months of June and July. NOAA says the closure is meant to help rebuild the over fished amberjack.
The biggest amberjack caught so far weighed 50 lbs. The state record stands at 142 lbs.
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