A consortium of professional fishing guides wants the Georgia Legislature to give redfish more protection by changing its status to a gamefish.

The popular coastal species enjoys the distinction of being the "official state saltwater fish," but the absence of a formal "gamefish" designation makes it vulnerable to exploitation through commercial sales and overharvesting, according to the group, led by southeast Georgia guide Mike Duckworth, who spends about 90 days a year chasing redfish in shallow water.

Officially, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is neutral on the issue, but its leading biologists acknowledge a need to better protect what has become an important recreational fishery.

"We're officially neutral, but we are concerned about the possible consequences of not designating them as gamefish," said Spud Woodward, Georgia's assistant director for marine fisheries.

In Georgia, all freshwater fish species targeted by recreational anglers are legally gamefish, which means native fish cannot be sold commercially and can only be taken with hook and line.

"One of the reasons we don't have saltwater species classified as game species is that the framework to manage these species was done to manage commercial fishing," he said. "In the culture of saltwater fishing, everything is 'seafood' and not 'gamefish.' "

The petition drive is aimed at winning gamefish status for Georgia's redfish, which would limit commercial harvesting and sales.

"Over time recreational fishing has grown in importance, and commercial fishing has somewhat diminished," Woodward said. "The designation of species targeted by recreational fishermen just makes sense."

Georgia, he added, is the only state in the southeast besides Mississippi that hasn't take the step to designate redfish as gamefish. North Carolina, he added, does have a small commercial quota but regulated reds as gamefish.

Although anyone harvesting redfish commercially in Georgia must have a commercial license and adhere to size and creel limits, state authorities believe much goes unreported.

"We know we have people making multiple trips in a day and exceeding the limit," Woodward said. "When you have the allowable sale is also promotes keeping the maximum allowable limit."

Redfish are vulnerable to overharvesting and respond well to proper management and conservation, he said.

For more on the petition drive, visit www.georgiaredfish.org.

OFFICER RECOVERING: The current hunting season has been calm in terms of hunting fatalities, but one of the most noteworthy accidents involved a deer hunter who mistook a state wildlife officer for a deer -- and shot him.

The hunter, 47-year-old Lynn Jeffers, was hunting Thanksgiving afternoon when he thought DNR Law Enforcement Corporal Curtis Wright was a deer and fired his 7 mm magnum rifle from 70 yards away.

The bullet pierced his abdomen and exited from his back. Wright, who was helped to a hospital by Jeffers, has undergone three surgeries and is expected to recover.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the case.

"Mr. Jeffers has cooperated during the investigation and although initially this appears to be a case of a hunter mistaking a person for game, all aspects of the incident will be fully investigated," DNR spokeswoman Melissa Cummings said. "Any decision on bringing criminal charges against Jeffers will be made upon completion of the investigation."

The last incident in which a Georgia conservation ranger was injured by shooting was in March 2001 when Cpl. Leon Tucker was injured on the opening day of turkey hunting season. Four conservation officers in the southeastern U.S. have died in the line of duty in 2008 -- one each from Texas, Alabama, Arkansas and Florida.

So far this season, 25 other serious hunting accidents have been reported, including nine accidental shootings, in which six of those injured shot themselves.

Other accidents included ATV mishaps and falls from tree stands. No fatalities have been reported.