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Dec-28-2009Plan would limit bottom fishing off SC coast(topic overview)
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Fishermen and conservationists spoke out in 2009 on proposals to massively change boating rules for most of Florida Bay, one of the year's myriad environmental issues in the Florida Keys. A key phase of the discussion on Florida Bay rules, being considered as part of Everglades National Park's first update to its general management plan in 30 years, drew concerned residents to Upper Keys meetings from April to November. [1] Florida Keys fishermen learned in 2009 that the new year will dawn with a closed season on most grouper. The most controversial issue to roil the dockside world this year focused on new rules that impose a four-month closed season on harvesting most types of shallow-water grouper. They're being caught faster than they can reproduce," Binns said. "They're at critically low levels." [2]
On Dec. 10, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted to add state waters to the closure, in large part to conform to federal regulations. "These rules are intended to help speed the recovery and rebuilding process for Atlantic grouper and reduce the likelihood of harvest overruns and possible additional fishing restrictions in federal waters," said Rodney Barreto, FWC chairman. [2] The plan would prohibit bottom fishing for grouper at deep-sea sweet spots. It leaves open a few prized locations closer to shore. Federal officials already have temporarily banned red snapper fishing while they debate a long-term solution. Many commercial and recreational anglers opposed closing the bottom in the four states regulated by the council, saying it wasn't needed and would drive them out of business. Advocates such as the PEW Environmental Group have pushed hard for stricter regulations, saying the short-term damage to the industry is necessary to sustain the species in the long term. [3] CHARLESTON -- A large cusp of the offshore bottom along the Continental Shelf would be closed to fishing from Charleston to south Florida under a plan tentatively approved this month by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The plan aims to save the imperiled red snapper, which often don't survive if they are caught while fishermen target other species. [3] The National Marine Fisheries Service in March approved recommendations from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to ban the taking of black grouper and red grouper. [2]
South Atlantic Council staff came to Key Largo in November to take comments on a proposal to close ban fishing for deeper grouper in waters below 240 feet. [2]
Commercial and recreational fishermen won't be allowed to keep shallow-water grouper caught in federal and state Atlantic waters from North Carolina to Key West. [4] The ban extends into state waters in the Gulf of Mexico off Monroe County. Keys commercial fishermen say they're already reeling from low demand and low prices for spiny lobster and stone crabs. [4]
Charter boat captains and commercial fishermen in the Florida Keys say the ban will be economically devastating because it coincides with peak tourist season in the island chain. [4]
If enacted, that would require boaters to use "pole or troll" (a push pole or electric trolling motor) to enter significant areas of Florida Bay. Other proposals include smaller no-motor zones. Avid fishermen and bay guides say they understand the need to protect the bay, but want to be sure the plan doesn't place large areas of popular fishing grounds or access routes off-limits. [1] The park's preferred alternative for the general management plan, including the Florida Bay rules, is scheduled to be released in 2010. [1]
One direct result of hearings in the Keys and elsewhere will be the establishment of a test pole-or-troll zone in Snake Bight, along the southern edge of the Florida mainland, due north of Islamorada. That experimental zone is expected to be marked and put in effect in late 2010. Another program spurred by the discussion was the launching of Eco-Mariner, a bay-focused program by the National Parks and Conservation Association. [1] A new conservation group came to the Keys, and a familiar name departed. Ocean for Life, a new youth initiative group backed by the National Marine Sanctuary Program and a host of international organizations, came to the Keys for its first weeklong field trip in July. [1]
In November, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said on the floor of Congress that new regulations create an "economic maelstrom" for South Florida fishing professionals, and cited Key West charter fisherman Andy Griffiths by name. [2]
"For Keys recreational angler Andy Griffiths, the upcoming four-month grouper closure has resulted in a 90 percent loss of business for the 2010 fishing season," Ros-Lehtinen said. [2] The January-through-April closure covers the height of the Keys winter tourism season, but also covers the spawning season for several types of shallow-water grouper. [2]
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) -- A four-month ban on grouper fishing will take effect Jan. 1. [4]
"Gag grouper and vermilion snapper have been undergoing overfishing for at least 10 years. They're being caught faster than they can reproduce," Binns said. "They're at critically low levels." [2] Whatever rules are put in place might not stay for long. The decision is being made as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is proposing new guidelines for assessing fish stocks and begins a long-expected move to allocating catch shares -- giving anglers a specific number of fish they can catch rather than limits on individual species -- and limiting the number of anglers who can fish. [3] The closure might not come before a new stock assessment is finished next December. This month's volatile decision reversed a committee decision that would have closed a far larger area, including the water directly offshore of Charleston. It followed a year of heated public hearings and a grueling, sometimes heated, council meeting in September at which members did not reach a decision. [3] No decisions have been reached, and any proposed new regulation announced next year will be open for new comment. [1]
The closure is one of a number of regulations being considered to protect snapper-grouper species, which council counts indicate have been depleted. [3]
The vote came just before a December deadline mandated by a new stricter federal law that said the council must have rules in place by 2010 to stop snapper over-fishing. [3] The rule was approved so federal fishery managers will know more precisely how many people are harvesting fish. [2] Originally intended to take effect in January 2009, the rule on the closure bogged down in the federal bureaucratic process and was pushed back until January 2010. [2]
Covered by the rule are gag grouper, scamp, red hind, rock hind, coney, graysby, yellowfin grouper, yellowmouth grouper and tiger grouper. [2]
Craig Reaves, owner of Sea Eagle Market in Beaufort, said the move upset local commercial and recreational fishermen. He fears he might need to supply his business from elsewhere if the plan is implemented. "We're going to have to buy our fish from the Gulf of Mexico or Central and South America, and that's not what we want," he said. [3] The closure would curtail most commercial and recreational fishing, disrupting a $600 million-per-year industry in South Carolina alone. [3]
Dive guides since have reported seeing lionfish as far south as Key West's Vandenberg shipwreck. The colorful plumes of the lionfish make it a stunning fish to behold, but its spines packs potent venom that causes severely painful stings. The main concern about the invasive lionfish, however, is that they breed rapidly and have a ravenous appetite for reef fish. [1] The Pacific fish has spread throughout the Caribbean and East Coast for several years, but had not been seen in the Keys. At least, until a small lionfish was spotted and captured near the Benwood wreck off Key Largo in January. [1]
SOURCES
1. 2009 rewind: Environment
2. 2009 rewind: Fishing
3. Plan would limit bottom fishing off SC coast | islandpacket.com
4. WEAR ABC 3 :: Florida News
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