August 1998 -- Seawatch -- Newsletter of CCA Florida

August 1998Issue #73

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Snook by Susan H. Young

The new rule was needlessly delayed by another commercial industry lawsuit which objected to installing a $25 device that would stop the unnecessary killing of hundreds of millions of fish.

Governor Lawton Chiles and the Florida Cabinet have given final approval to a proposed Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) rule that requires the installation of finfish bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) in all shrimp otter-type trawls used in state waters. Initial motion to approve the rule was made by Secretary of State Sandra Mortham. The new rule takes effect on August 17.

"This measure will have monumental positive impacts on Florida’s fishery resources," said CCA Florida Executive Director Ted Forsgren. "These devices will prevent the unnecessary killing and waste of hundreds of millions of juvenile finfish every year."

The MFC estimates that, in the state and federal waters off Florida, somewhere between 70 to 116 million pounds of finfish and other marine life are caught, killed and dumped back into the sea by shrimp trawlers every year. Fish species common in trawl by-kill include flounder, croaker, whiting, sand trout, silver trout, Spanish mackerel, groupers, snappers and just about everything else that lives in Florida’s coastal waters.

The well-considered regulation was developed over a five-year period with substantial input from scientists, commercial fishermen, and the public. Nevertheless, despite every effort to work with all interested parties in developing the rule, it’s final review by the Governor and Cabinet was unnecessarily delayed for ten months by a commercial industry lawsuit.

The Southeastern Fisheries Association, a commercial fishing industry group, did not appear or testify at any of the 21 regional or statewide MFC hearings until the last and final hearing in September. At that time they objected to the rule and filed a lawsuit challenging the regulation.

"Why would anyone object to installing a $25 device that would save millions of juvenile fish," asked Forsgren, "especially when studies show that the devices required by the rule would have little if any significant impact on the harvest of shrimp."

A state administrative law judge eventually found the commercial industry’s claims groundless and upheld the validity of the MFC regulation.

"CCA members and grassroots activists are to be commended for their support throughout the process," added Forsgren, "and for their efforts in contacting the Governor and individual members of the Cabinet in support of the regulation."

The constitutional amendment to create a unified Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is part of a package of vital environmental protections that will appear on the November ballot.

Floridians will soon have the opportunity to vote for one of the most important conservation measures in Florida’s history. Appearing on the November 3 statewide ballot as Revision 5, the Conservation of Natural Resources and Creation of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission contains constitutional changes that represent great strides in the conservation of Florida’s marine resources.

One section of Revision 5 unifies the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission with the Marine Fisheries Commission to form a new constitutional-empowered fish and wildlife conservation agency. Marine conservationists have long sought a unified fish and wildlife commission as a solution to the difficulties of passing conservation-oriented management regulations in a political atmosphere.

Revision 5 also provides for the permanent protection of vast portions of Florida’s remaining natural treasures and ecosystems by creating constitutional protections for publicly-owned conservation lands. It also extends state bonding authority for the purchase of conservation lands. This will allow for the continuation of programs like P-2000 which often acquire valuable wetlands and watershed properties that protect fragile estuarine ecosystems.

A coalition of conservation organizations including the Nature Conservancy, Florida Audubon, Florida Wildlife Federation, and CCA Florida is forming to support passage of the measure. Members who can volunteer their time to distribute campaign materials or take part in a fundraising event should contact the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee at 1-800-647-9912.

CCA Florida is calling for an end to the rampant poaching that has taken place during the last three roe mullet seasons.

Despite passage of the net ban in 1994, and implementation in July of 1995, state government has not demonstrated the will to stop the ongoing and prevailing illegal activities. It was so bad during 1997, that preliminary analysis by the Florida Marine Institute revealed that in 1998, the mullet harvest could equal 80 percent of the total mullet harvest during the last complete year prior to the net ban.

CCA Florida is seeking an expanded effort on behalf of the state’s law enforcement agencies in the face of the upcoming roe season. The DEP’s Marine Patrol and the executive branch of state government should make enforcement of the net ban a priority in those parts of the state where blatant illegal netting continues.

For three years in a row the Florida Legislature has been willing to pass tougher, more comprehensive laws to implement the net ban and close loopholes being exploited by the commercial fishing industry.

The laws are now fully in place; the enforcement branch has been given the tools to enforce the net ban. It’s now time to get on with the assignment.

The use of monofilament netting in state waters is prohibited. Possession of any monofilament, or entangling net is prohibited on any airboat; on any vessel less than 22 feet in length; and on any vessel less than 25 feet in length if the primary power of the vessel is forward of the vessel center point. Use of a seine net with a stretched mesh over 2 inches is also prohibited.

CCA Florida members can help this roe season by reporting violations using the numbers below. If that is not effective, call the Marine Patrol main offices in Tallahassee at 850-488-5600 or, your local legislators and ask why there is still so much illegal netting activity.

To report a violation statewide call 1-800-342-5367, or dial *FMP on a cellular phone. For local field offices call:

The Marine Patrol’s Coast Watchers program and CCA Florida have assembled the following guidelines for use when planning to report a violation.

In late June the CCA Florida Board of Directors met in Punta Gorda to review the first half of 1998 and set new conservation goals and initiatives for the remainder of the year. Following are highlights of the meeting.

The board passed a motion in support of the "Give Swordfish a Break" national campaign which began with two dozen chefs who announced their decision not to serve swordfish. The campaign has since spread to restaurants in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, Miami, and other East Coast cities.

Longliners now take 98 percent of the U.S. swordfish catch (102,565 fish in 1995, the last year statistics are available). In 1987 they fished 6.5 million hooks, but by 1995, that figure had jumped to 11.1 million hooks, or an increase of 70 percent. According to SeaWeb, a swordfish landed in the ’60s weighed 266 pounds; the average fish today is a measly 90-pounder. Nearly two-thirds of today’s swordfish taken have never spawned, and dead discards of undersize juveniles number 40,000. Many of the fish that end up in restaurants weighed only 40 pounds when caught.

After discussing the inevitable over-fishing crisis which will follow the targeting of dolphin by longline fleets, and after hearing anecdotal evidence presented by board members, the directors passed a motion adopting a position in strong opposition to the continued longlining of dolphin in federal and state waters of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Information suggests that some of the swordfish fleet is retooling to target dolphin only, while other longliners are developing gear to target dolphin and swordfish during the same set. As a result, commercial landings have risen sharply.

In addition, Board member Tim Nettles has been selected to serve on the dolphin advisory committee for the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

[For more information on Dolphin longlining see the May/June issue of Tide magazine.]

The CCA Board passed a motion in opposition to the establishment of a 92-square mile "No Fishing Zone" in the Oculina Bank habitat protection area off the coast of Ft. Pierce. Executive Director Ted Forsgren recently made a presentation to the South Atlantic Council in opposition to the huge closed zone.

CCA also stated opposition to the current experimental no grouper/snapper fishing regulation over the Oculina Banks. The organization instead suggests that resource managers utilize more effective, more enforceable management measures to protect spawning aggregations of groupers and snappers in the region, while retaining the no anchoring regulation, the shrimp and scallop trawl gear restrictions, and other measures designed to protect important coral habitat.

The CCA board, which has long opposed huge closed fishing zones in the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary, believes that "No Fishing Zones" are simply a current trendy concept promoted primarily by a group of research scientists who claim that conventional management measures have failed; however, most of these scientists have never substantially participated in marine fisheries management at the state or federal levels. It’s not management regulations that have failed; it’s the fisheries managers who refused to adopt meaningful regulations that have failed.

The Board reviewed the current situation regarding the management of gag grouper in the Gulf of Mexico. CCA is concerned that a proposed two-month closure of commercial harvest will be ineffectual. Similar closure proposals have been tried in the management of numerous other reef species and in each case it has proven to be inadequate, resulting in accelerated fishing effort on either side of the closure.

The board also recognized the importance of gag grouper to anglers in the Panhandle and Big Bend region, comparing it to the value provided by bonefish in the Keys. Statistics were reviewed which revealed that although the commercial harvest of grouper exceeded 9 million pounds in each of the three years preceding the establishment of a 9 million-pound quota, in each of the years following, the "reported" landings have never reached the quota.

Executive Director Ted Forsgren also reported on the commercial industry’s attempt in the courts and the Legislature to redefine a seine net as having 3-inch stretched mesh. A legislative amendment to allow 3-inch mesh (which is effectively a gill net) was removed from the marine resource legislation before final passage. Following the legislation, a rule defining an illegal gill net as anything over 2-inch stretched mesh was passed by the MFC and subsequently approved by the Governor and Cabinet. The approval effectively gutted an ongoing industry lawsuit that is attempting to place the 3-inch seine definition into law.

On June 23, Alex Jernigan, a dedicated marine conservationist and recreational fisherman from Yankeetown, was appointed to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Jernigan was the original chairman of FCA, longtime CCA board member and is an avid saltwater angler.

The appointment was especially important because the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council seat that Jernigan now holds was previously held by the last remaining Florida recreational fisherman on either the Gulf or South Atlantic Councils. The last time a recreational seat was up for appointment, the National Marine Fisheries Service put in a paid commercial industry lobbyist!

For the past number of months the Marine Fisheries Commission has been receiving public input for proposed amendments to the snook management rule. At a June public hearing in Destin, Executive Director Ted Forsgren presented CCA Florida's snook management recommendations.

CCA Florida supports adoption of one set of regulations for the east coast of Florida and a more restrictive set for the west coast; an increase in minimum size to 26 inches on both the east and west coasts; and a maximum size of 34 inches for the west coast which would create a slot limit of 26 - 34 inches.

CCA Florida also supported an MFC proposal that would prohibit captains (guides) from retaining a daily bag limit when on a chartered trip. However, the CCA proposal noted that most licensed fishing guides already follow that conservation practice.

At the Destin meeting, the Commission approved proposed amendments to the snook rule that would establish a statewide minimum/maximum size limit of 26-34 inches for snook, eliminate the allowance of one fish over the maximum size limit, and prohibit the captain and crew on for-hire vessels from retaining the snook bag limit. The current two-fish snook daily bag limit and snook seasonal closures would remain unchanged.

A final public hearing on changes to the snook management rule will be held in September in Ft. Myers.

The Commission also received scientific and public comment on proposed rules to designate mullet as a restricted species statewide and prohibit the possession and sale of mullet taken in illegal gill or entangling nets. A final public hearing on the restricted species proposal will be scheduled if requested. In addition, public workshops will be held this summer to gather input on other net gear and mullet issues, including cast net/entangling net possession, trip limits, seine bunching, and vessel lengths.

The MFC unanimously expressed its support for passage of the proposed constitutional amendment to create a unified fish and wildlife conservation commission. The amendment will appear on the November ballot as part of Revision 5 to the Florida Constitution.