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SEAWATCH May 2002 Continued Issue #90

Table of Contents:

• 2002 Fisheries Conservation Work Plan
  
• CCA Florida’s Year in Review - 2001
  
• Page One Articles
  • Grouper Regulations Target Recreational Anglers - Again
  • 2002 Florida Legislature Yields Conservation Gains
    
  • Poachers Kill 7,000 Pounds of Spanish Mackerel in Illegal Gill Net
    
  • Net Ban Off Again, On Again in Three North Florida Counties

2002 Fisheries Conservation Work Plan

by Ted Forsgren

The following are excerpts from the 2002 Conservation Work Plan approved by the CCA Florida Board of Directors in February.

Net Ban Enforcement
During 2002, we will reinitiate our efforts on behalf of better, stronger enforcement of the net ban by maintaining our investigation into illegal netting and prosecutions of net ban violations. We also plan to continue working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Florida’s legislative leaders to implement recommendations to improve enforcement, prosecution and penalties.

CCA Florida also worked this year during the legislative session in support of FWC legislative amendments to enhance illegal netting prosecutions and enforcement efforts against outlaw fish houses. [Net ban enhancement amendments were passed by the Legislature in March. Please see 2002 Florida Legislature Yields Conservation Gains for more information.]

We’re also going to continue urging the FWC to adopt rules that stop the widespread use of entanglement “seines,” multiple seine nets, and “toy boats” to circumvent restrictions on the number of nets that can be used at one time. And we’ll be advocating new FWC pompano management regulations to control illegal netting and restore pompano stocks.

“No Take-No Fishing” Reserves
CCA Florida will continue to oppose “No Take-No Fishing” Reserves while advocating more effective, proven fisheries management measures such as spawning aggregation, time and area closures and catch-and-release fishing. We are currently monitoring proposals before the South Atlantic Federal Fishery Council to establish “Marine Protected Areas” and “No Fishing Zones” off of Florida.

We’re also watching the development or revision of management plans for Biscayne National Park, and for various National Wildlife Refuges including Merritt Island, Mosquito Lagoon, Ding Darling and Pine Island Sound.

Bluewater Campaign Dolphin (Mahi Mahi)
After a long, hard effort by CCA Florida and other CCA state chapters in the southeast, the South Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean federal fisheries management councils approved a joint council management plan for dolphin. The final plan incorporates most of the recommendations put forth by CCA representatives. However, final approval of the plan has been delayed (in review) by the National Marine Fisheries Service for more than a year. We will continue to work for final approval and initiation of the plan.

Manatee Management
For 2002, CCA Florida will continue to promote the development and adoption of measurable biological goals for manatee protection and management. Such goals will allow state and federal agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of existing protection regulations and to determine the need for additional measures based on science, not politics and emotion.

We also plan to review and comment on Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) manatee protection plans. The FWC is developing proposed rules for 21 manatee “hot spots” and “safe haven” areas in 2002. The USFWS has proposed 16 new manatee refuges and sanctuaries for 2002. In cases where proposals unfairly or arbitrarily restrict recreational fishing, we will develop and recommend alternative measures to protect manatees while not overly impacting recreational fishing.

Grouper
CCA Florida will be working with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to prohibit use of commercial bottom longline gear out to 50 fathoms primarily to protect red grouper stocks. We will also continue pushing for controls on commercial gag harvest with the goal of restoring historical, preregulation allocation levels of 68 percent recreational, 32 percent commercial.

Seatrout
CCA Florida will monitor the FWC spotted seatrout stock assessment which will be completed and presented to the Commission in September 2002.

Habitat Restoration
We are also continuing our efforts to acquire funds and provide volunteers for marine habitat restoration projects on both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. CCA members work to restore saltmarshes, mangrove shorelines and oyster bars.

This photo of Cockroach Bay, which is part of the greater Tampa Bay ecosystem, was taken three years after hundreds of volunteers from CCA Florida and local high school science clubs planted 10 acres of saltmarsh plants on land that was once a tomato farm.

[return to Table of Contents]

Bluewater Campaign - Longlines
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) time and area longline closure went into effect on March 15, 2001, thus, permanently closing the entire Gulf Stream off of Florida’s east coast from Key West to the Florida/Georgia line. Although the NMFS closure came primarily from lawsuit settlement agreements, the area closed on Florida’s east coast was precisely the same area defined in the CCA-backed Congressional legislation. In addition, major areas in the Gulf of Mexico are now also subject to time and area longline closures. When commercial longline groups challenged the closures in federal court, CCA intervened in the case.

Bluewater Campaign - Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi)
The South Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean federal fisheries management councils approved the Joint Dolphin/Wahoo Management Plan in February 2001 which contained key CCA-backed elements. The South Atlantic Council also adopted emergency rules to implement specific commercial regulations protecting dolphin within the Atlantic longline closed areas. The plan was still under review by NMFS at the end of 2001.

Florida Legislature: 2001
The 2001 Legislative Session was an excellent year for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) budget appropriations regarding marine protection and enhancement. CCA Florida was instrumental in helping to get $435,000 for the FWC saltwater hatchery and two artificial reef budget items totaling $1.5 million. Please see Legislative Session Brings Good News for Marine Fisheries Funding from the June 2001 Seawatch for more information.

Net Ban Enforcement
As a result of CCA Florida research into widespread net poaching in 2001, the FWC proposed several legislative amendments for the 2002 Legislative Session to address the possession of illegally-caught fish by wholesale fish houses and the ownership of vessels used in the commission of a violation.

Also in 2001, the Palm Beach Chapter obtained and donated $10,000 worth of radar equipment for the FWC’s South Region to enhance enforcement efforts against illegal netting and illegal longlining. CCA also received some outstanding video footage of an illegal netting operation which created an opportunity to urge the FWC Commissioners to take immediate action to stop illegal netting.

Federal Magnuson Fisheries Act Amendments
Research continued on the preparation of a special report on the problems with the current federal fishery management process, including documentation of an institutional bias in favor of commercial fishing and the ongoing conversion of predominantly recreational fisheries to commercial fisheries. Magnuson Act amendments were drafted by CCA National staff in 2001, and preliminary discussions were begun with potential Congressional sponsors.

Redfish Stocking
CCA Florida has long supported an expanded fish stocking program in Florida’s coastal waters and worked to achieve an additional appropriation of $435,000 to increase production capacity at the FWC’s saltwater hatchery. CCA Florida’s local chapters in the Tampa Bay area provided support and volunteer work hours at the hatchery.

Also in 2001, Governor Jeb Bush, and CCA representatives took part in a ceremony acknowledging the release of the one millionth redfish fingerling into Tampa Bay.

“No Take-No Fishing” Reserves
CCA Florida mobilized its grassroots alert contacts and generated substantial public opposition to the South Atlantic Council’s proposed “shopping list” of 40 new “Marine Protected Areas/No Fishing Zones.” Nineteen of the 40 were proposed for Florida’s east coast. In response to public opposition, the South Atlantic Council reduced the number of proposals to only four off of Florida, and stated that the remaining areas would be designed solely for the protection of deepwater snapper/grouper spawning areas while allowing surface fishing/trolling for billfish, dolphin, wahoo and other pelagics to continue.

CCA’s successful lawsuit against NMFS over the Gulf gag grouper “No Fishing Zones” substantially changed the regulations and set an important precedent. As a result, surface trolling for billfish, tuna and other highly migratory species will still be allowed in the gag grouper spawning protection closure zones.

FWC and Federal Manatee Management Plans
CCA Florida became involved in state and federal manatee protection plans in 2001 because of a lawsuit settlement agreement that was being discussed behind closed doors. The FWC consequently agreed to hold a public hearing. CCA Florida amendments were eventually incorporated into the final agreement to protect saltwater fishing access while still providing for manatee protection. CCA Florida also contracted for an assessment of manatee scientific information which resulted in the report by Dr. Thomas Fraser—“Manatees in Florida: 2001.”

Pompano Rule Amendments
CCA Florida prepared information to document the obvious illegal netting of pompano. The evidence demonstrated that the vast majority of the pompano harvest was being taken illegally in state waters with gill nets under the guise of being caught in federal waters outside the limits of the net ban. CCA urged the FWC to adopt specific measures to control and prohibit so-called pompano netting in “federal waters.” Although the FWC did adopt new pompano management rules, they did not adopt measures as strong or as effective as those we recommended. More action on this issue is expected when the first complete pompano stock assessment is finalized in Spring 2003.

Snook
Substantial new conservation measures were adopted by the FWC for west coast snook stocks. The measures maintain a 40 percent SPR (spawning potential ratio) goal by implementing a one fish limit and adding May to the summer closure for the Gulf coast. The FWC staff and CCA Florida recommendations were identical and were adopted unanimously.

Cobia
The FWC adopted new cobia regulations in 2001 which established a one fish per person or four per boat limit, whichever is less, for recreational anglers, and two per person or four per boat, whichever is less, for commercial fishermen. The FWC’s final rule, with the exception of the two per person commercial limit, was the same as CCA Florida’s recommendations.

Gulf Gag and Red Grouper
CCA Florida urged the FWC to strongly support the management option in the Gulf Council’s red grouper plan that prohibits the use of bottom longlines out to 50 fathoms. The FWC unanimously adopted that position and instructed their staff to work for that option in the federal plan.

CCA Florida also encouraged the Gulf Council to restore historical, preregulation allocation levels of 68 percent recreational and 32 percent commercial, and opposed increased recreational restrictions unless equivalent restrictions are imposed on commercial fishing.

St. Johns River Shrimping
CCA Florida mobilized substantial public opposition in 2001 to a request by commercial shrimpers to open an area in the St. Johns River that has been closed to shrimp trawling for almost 20 years. The FWC consequently dropped the issue.

Youth Conservation Programs
The Charlotte Chapter held its annual Kids Fishing Day in July, treating 185 kids to a day of fishing, a tackle box and rod and reel, and a cookout. The Pinellas and Tampa chapters included youth organizations such as science classes and scout troops in their annual habitat restoration projects. The Orlando Chapter also included youth organizations as part of their annual restoration projects in the Indian River.

The Tampa chapter includes youth organizations such as science classes and scout troops in their annual habitat restoration projects.

A number of other CCA chapters including Palm Beach, Naples, Treasure Coast, Pasco, Pinellas and Manatee held annual fishing tournaments, clinics, or similar events that encouraged participation by local kids.

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