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| Press Release |
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| For Immediate Release: |
Contact: Ted Forsgren |
| May 31, 2001 |
(850) 224-3474
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Cell phone: (407) 702-3567 |
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| FWC FUMBLES ON REGULATIONS TO CONTROL ILLEGAL POMPANO NETTING |
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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has adopted new regulations intended to control illegal netting of pompano in state waters. CCA Florida was encouraged that the Commission was working to address the issue; however, they noted that the measures fall short of what is needed to control the problem.
"The main problem is not the approved concept of using special permits and observers to document and control net fishers who may actually be able to net pompano in limited offshore areas," said Forsgren. "The problem is with obvious loopholes in the regulations that will be exploited by poachers netting in state waters."
CCA Florida urged the Commission to delay action on the proposal until their September meeting and to use the time to develop amendments to close the loopholes. However, the FWC made two changes to address some of the loophole issues and then adopted the rule.
According to CCA, commercial landings of pompano declined dramatically right after the net ban went into effect because virtually all commercial take was done with gill and entanglement nets in state waters. All around the state, recreational anglers began to see impressive increases in pompano abundance. However, reports of widespread illegal pompano netting and net ban violation arrests began to build. Commercial pompano landings, with huge increases supposedly caught in "offshore federal waters," began coming in. Before long, commercial landings rose to a level equal to pre-net ban landings. Pompano abundance again declined, particularly in Southwest Florida.
The FWC's Marine Research Institute (FMRI) has just completed a preliminary pompano stock assessment, which verifies what anglers, guides and others have been saying. The FMRI stock assessment states:
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Estimates of 1986-99 Florida pompano biomass and fishing mortality show short-lived changes that coincided with the July 1995 ban on the use of entangling nets in Florida State waters. Biomass increased sharply in 1997 and 1998 on both coasts of Florida but then declined to near 1986-96 average levels by 1999 and 2000. Fishing mortality rates dropped in 1996 to levels of fishing that were just below that necessary to capture the maximum sustainable yield but then rebounded by 1998 to near the highest levels measured during the 1986-99 time frame.
The Florida pompano populations in and adjacent to Florida appear to be over fished with respect to the amount of fishing needed to harvest maximum sustainable yield. There is no current population or catch age-structure information that would allow us to calculate the spawning potential ratios (SPR) for Florida pompano. However, the estimated current level of fishing relative to other biological benchmarks implies that current fishing mortality rates are about double that needed to achieve a static SPR of 35%.
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"The dramatic recovery of pompano right after the net ban went into effect has been undermined by illegal netting," said Forsgren.
The commercial fishery landings data gives further evidence of an illegal netting problem. An FMRI analysis shows that 97.5% of commercial hook and line gear trips (i.e. the legal inshore fishery) landed less than 200 lbs. per trip. However, 77% of the total statewide commercial pompano landings came from trips landing more than 200 lbs.
"In other words, 77% of the commercial landings are supposedly coming from a gillnet fishery in offshore federal waters," said Forsgren.
For nearly two years, the FWC has discussed the netting of pompano in federal waters vs. inshore poaching and has urged net fishers to take FWC observers to document the gillnetting of pompano in federal waters. To date, only three fishermen operating out of the Marco Island area have done so.
"We firmly believe the landings data, illegal netting arrests, and observations of anglers, guides and commercial hook and line fishermen clearly indicate the existence of a large, illegal pompano gillnet fishery in state waters," said CCA's Forsgren. "We had hoped the Commission would take much stronger action to control the poachers."
CCA Florida objected to the FWC's rule for the following reasons:
The rule promotes the development and expansion of a gillnet fishery in federal waters because: |
a) there is no set time frame or deadline for demonstrating that pompano can be caught in federal waters; and,
b) once any fishermen demonstrates the necessary catch to an observer in a region, all fishermen (with poundage documentation) can begin pompano netting.
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A gillnet fishery should not be expanded on an overfished species; the preliminary assessment indicates that current fishing mortality is already double what can be sustained.
An expanded east coast gillnet fishery will re-establish the serious conflicts between gillnet fisheries and endangered sea turtles that existed prior to the net ban.
The "by-catch" exception provision, that undermines most of the rule, allows anyone with a commercial license to possess 250 pompano (approx. 370-500 lbs. of fish). The problem this represents is that: |
a) many of the previous illegal pompano netting arrests actually included seizures for existing poundages in the by-catch allowance range; and,
b) under the "by-catch" exception, net-fishers do not have to comply with special license requirements; do not have to stay in designated regions; and do not have to be free of illegal netting violations.
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Convicted net poachers would be allowed to obtain the special pompano netting licenses after only a three year wait.
The 250 fish "state waters" commercial limit (Approx. 370-500 lbs.) is much larger than needed to accommodate the legal hook and line fishery in state waters. 97.5% of the commercial hook and line trips landed less than 200 lbs.
To address some of CCA's objections, the FWC amended the rule to reduce the commercial "by-catch" possession provision from 250 to 100 fish and changed the 250 fish state waters commercial limit from a per person limit to a vessel limit.
CCA indicated that the predicted overfished status of the fishery means the FWC will need to readdress the pompano issue again in early 2002 when the stock assessment is finalized.
"If the Commission had taken stronger measures to reduce the illegal netting now they probably would not need to place substantial new restrictions on the legal recreational and commercial fishers," said Forsgren. "I'm afraid the legal fisheries are going to be faced with major new restrictions because of the poachers." |
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State Office: P.O. Box 568886 • Orlando, FL 32856
Phone: (407) 854-7002 • Fax: (407) 854-1766
e-mail: Marcia Dunfee |
Advocacy Office: 905 East Park Avenue • Tallahassee, FL 32301
Phone: (850) 224-3474 • Fax: (850) 224-5199
e-mail: Amy Harllee |
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