SEAWATCH October 2002 Issue #92

Table of Contents:

• New Manatee Speed Zones and Refuges Established
  
• Longlines Could Remain in Gulf Grouper Fishery
• FWC Votes to Reexamine Florida’s Species Listing Process
• New Report Confirms Increasing Manatee Numbers - Recommends “Threatened” Instead of “Endangered” Status
• Nine States Receive $200,000 From the FishAmerica Foundation

New Manatee Speed Zones and Refuges Established

by Ted Forsgren, Executive Director of CCA Florida

CCA Florida worked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to develop manatee protection rules that retain reasonable angler access while providing additional protection for manatees.

On September 12, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) adopted new manatee speed zones in 10 areas of the state located in Charlotte, Citrus, Hillsborough, Indian River, Manatee and Sarasota counties. Prior to final adoption of the rules, CCA Florida worked with the FWC to encourage a balance between manatee protection and access for recreational fishing.

“From the beginning, our goal in this process has been to insure that the interests of saltwater anglers are fairly considered and to offer reasonable recommendations and alternatives based on facts, not emotion,” said Dr. Ernie Hendry, CCA Florida Chairman. “We supported a majority of the Commission’s proposed new zones. We also recommended modifications in one area, and there was one proposal that we opposed.”

The FWC proposals for new speed zones were a result of a lawsuit filed two years ago by manatee groups that claimed the State of Florida had not done enough to protect manatees and that such inaction was “causing manatees to sink further toward extinction.” The FWC and the manatee groups entered into a settlement agreement to resolve the lawsuit.

At the time, FWC Commissioner Quinton Hedgepeth stated, “I don’t think the Commission is guilty of what we’re being sued over,” and, “I don’t think settling a lawsuit is the best way to make rules.”

David Meehan, FWC Chairman at that time also stated publicly, “I don’t think we’re guilty either, but I do think settling the suit is the most practical way to keep the issue in Florida.”

Substantial scientific information has been made public since then indicating that existing Florida manatee protection programs combined with federal protection efforts have been working and that statewide manatee populations have been steadily increasing over the last 30 years—not declining as claimed in the lawsuit. When the CCA Florida report Manatees in Florida: 2001 was released, it clearly showed that the “minimum” population counts from annual state aerial surveys have remained on an upward trend. In addition, in January 2001, state scientists visually counted an all-time record 3,276 manatees in their statewide survey—more than double the number counted 10 years earlier.

CCA Florida believes that efforts by the manatee group and its attorneys to portray watercraft mortalities as skyrocketing out of control are deliberately misleading. The 27 years of data in the FWC manatee carcass recovery program indicates that such statements are clearly false, which is why these groups always avoid comparing increases in watercraft mortalities with increases in other causes of mortality.

Figure 1

In fact, the rate of increase in watercraft-related deaths is less than the rate of increase in natural mortalities (see figure 1) and less than the rate of increase in the total of all non-watercraft deaths (see figure 2). A steady increase in all forms of mortality validates what is being seen in the annual population counts. An increase in all mortalities is exactly what you would expect to see with a manatee population that has been expanding for 30 years.

Even with expanding manatee populations, CCA Florida feels that conservationists and recreational anglers who share the coastal waters with manatees should support reasonable protection measures to help reduce accidental watercraft mortalities. That’s why CCA Florida supported a majority of the FWC proposals. However, extreme restrictions, such as year-round, 5 mph speed zones on water bodies which have had only one, or even no, manatee-watercraft mortalities, will not be supported.

As a result, CCA Florida recommended that the FWC modify two speed zone proposals within the Peace River area from 5 mph to 25 mph. Both zones currently have no speed limits and in each of these areas there has been only one manatee killed by a watercraft during the past 30 years. In addition, according to FWC aerial survey data, manatee populations in the Peace River are certainly not declining, but instead show dramatic increases in abundance. Average sightings per survey flight increased from 3.7 manatees in the late 1980s, to 14.5 in the early 1990s, to 22 sightings per flight in 1998-1999 — a 600 percent increase over the previous 10 years.

Figure 2

CCA Florida also opposed the “Jungle Trail” proposal in Indian River County because 75.6 percent of the inshore waters in Indian River County are already included in manatee protection zones. Before adding major new restrictions we felt that the FWC should reexamine the need for such extensive zones throughout the county. If 75.6 percent of the inshore waters is not enough, then it’s possible the current zones are not in the correct locations.

Before final approval, the Commissioners agreed to incorporate key elements of the manatee plan proposed by CCA into the two Peace River areas. The revisions resulted in two additional 25-mph zones that local anglers, boaters and the Charlotte County Commission sought to facilitate access to and through the area.

In the Jungle Trail Narrows in Indian River County, the existing seasonal zone will be replaced by a year-round, slow-speed zone that will allow speeds up to 30 mph in the Intracoastal Waterway channel the entire length of Jungle Trail Narrows.

“We were encouraged and appreciate the efforts made by the Commissioners and their staff to work with CCA Florida and other recreational fishing interests. Their cooperative effort is evident in these proposals, which demonstrate that regulations can be designed to provide manatee protection and still provide reasonable access for recreational fishing,” said Dr. Hendry. “No one in our group wants any harm to come to manatees. We want to do our part.”

Even before the FWC’s final ruling, however, comments by manatee groups indicated that they were not satisfied with the amount of new regulations being recommended for these 10 areas. It should also be noted that they have already achieved the major component of the settlement agreement—the revised Brevard County manatee regulations. Brevard County now has more than 100 square miles of state and federal manatee protection zones in effect.

The terms of the original settlement agreement require FWC staff to develop and propose additional regulations; however, the agreement specifically states that the FWC Commissioners are not legally mandated to adopt any additional regulations.

Florida Statutes also give authority to the FWC to adopt boating regulations in areas where manatees occur on a “frequent or recurring” basis. It is important to note that this is also an authorization to regulate in such areas, not a mandate. This is an important distinction under the current situation where expanding populations are resulting in manatees becoming “frequent or recurring” in more and more areas of the state.

The FWC can, and should take the status of manatee populations into account in a region when developing rules. The level and degree of regulations should obviously be different in regions where populations are expanding versus areas where they may be stable.

Manatee Records Not Cause for Alarm
You may have read newspaper articles recently about a new record number of watercraft-caused manatee deaths (83 compared to 82 in 1999) and the accompanying outcry by the Manatee Club. Yet when you look at the graphs on this page, you can see that unless there is a decline in manatee populations, the trends in mortality levels over the past 30 years are likely to continue. Indeed, natural mortality rates have also reached three year highs.

As manatee populations and natural mortality rates continue to increase, we will most likely see a new “record” in watercraft mortalities every three to five years. This represents no change in the mortality patterns for manatee beyond what would be expected for an increasing population.

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CCA Florida applauded federal action to prohibit longlines in Gulf grouper fisheries but now the new rules may be rejected or weakened.

In July, after three years in development, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council adopted new regulations designed to curtail overfishing and restore Gulf red grouper. Included was a prohibition on the use of commercial longlines out to a depth of 50 fathoms which essentially would prohibit the gear in the red, gag and black grouper fisheries.

The Gulf Council’s rule was consequently submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for approval and incorporation into a final reef fish management plan. Now, in an almost comic example of federal fishery mismanagement, the process has dragged on for so long that a new stock assessment shows an improved year-class of juvenile red grouper. As a result, NMFS, finally on the verge of doing the right thing, may consider rejecting or weakening the rule including removing the ban on longlines inside 50 fathoms—all based on one good year-class in the stock assessment.

The longline prohibition, which was strongly supported by CCA Florida, saltwater anglers and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, is a critical and necessary element of the red grouper recovery plan.

On average, the commercial fishery takes 75 percent of the Gulf red grouper landings, with some years as high as 87 percent. Commercial longlines take 66 percent of the commercial landings.

Longline boats stay out multiple days setting many miles of baited hooks and lines. The gear is capable of applying intense fishing effort and achieving large catches, even on declining stocks of fish. For this reason, longlines have already been prohibited out to 50 fathoms in all other areas of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic from Texas to North Carolina. However, the longline fleet has been allowed to continue to heavily target red grouper in federal waters off of Florida’s west coast.

Ironically, the Gulf Council and NMFS have been in “default” for more than two years under a legal mandate within the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to stop overfishing of red grouper stocks. It’s now possible that NMFS could kill the rule, and the entire process would have to start over.

“If it wasn’t so serious it would be laughable,” said Ted Forsgren, CCA Florida Executive Director. “Without major reductions in commercial longline fishing pressure, once this year-class works its way through the population, red grouper will be in just as bad a shape.”

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FWC Votes to Reexamine Florida’s Species Listing Process

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) decided during its September meeting to reexamine its process for listing species as endangered, threatened and species of special concern. The current process was crafted by an 11-member panel of stakeholders in 1999.

The FWC further decided to table petitions to reclassify the bald eagle, gopher tortoise and bobwhite quail until it receives the panel’s suggestions. Petitions to reclassify the red-cockaded woodpecker and West Indian manatee, however, are well into the reclassification process and will continue toward final action this year.

Not all states maintain a list of imperiled species, and many of the ones that do consider Florida’s scientifically-based listing process to be a model of excellence, according to Frank Montalbano, director of the FWC’s Division of Wildlife, who added that Florida’s criteria may not adequately address marine fish issues. Montalbano also told Commissioners that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—which provides the basis for the state’s current listing process—has made recent changes in its criteria, and the state may want to consider making those changes a part of the state’s criteria.

The FWC also decided to reconvene a panel to review the state’s criteria and include representatives of marine interest groups to offer their input and to report back to the Commission with their suggestions in March 2003.

“There is also some confusion in comparing the federal listing process with the state’s process,” Montalbano said. “Both levels of government use basically the same classifications of species, but they use different criteria.”

For instance, a species may appear on the federal list as endangered but may be classified as threatened or species of special concern on the state list. This is because the state list uses well-defined scientific criteria while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s classification may be rooted in experts’ opinions.

As explained in a press release announcing the decision to review the classification, the FWC sometimes encounters resistance when it reclassifies a species on the state list because of a popular misconception that a threatened species receives less protection than an endangered species. However, it’s the species’ management plan that dictates the amount and type of effort and resources the state employs to manage the species rather than its classification. According to the FWC, “The state list merely serves as a sort of scorecard to reflect how well the state’s management programs are working. If the state does not reclassify a species when its condition improves or declines, there would be little point in maintaining a state list.”

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New Report Confirms Increasing Manatee Numbers - Recommends “Threatened” Instead of “Endangered” Status

Just as this issue of Seawatch was going to press, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released a preliminary report on the biological status of the manatee. Although preliminary, the report recommends that manatees fall within the criteria for “Threatened” status rather than “Endangered.”

According to The Preliminary Biological Status Review of the Florida Manatee:

“Current information on population trends of the Florida manatee do not suggest a reduction in population size over the last 45 years (three generations). Current data, both scientific and anecdotal, indicate that the Florida manatee population has increased since the 1970s (O’Shea 1988, O’Shea and Ackerman 1995).”

Two years ago the Manatee Club filed lawsuits accusing the State of Florida and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claiming that both had not done enough to protect manatees and that such inaction was “causing manatees to sink further toward extinction.” The new FWC report, in addition to previously released evidence of increasing numbers of manatees, again makes it clear that the claim in the Manatee Club lawsuit was completely false.

“The primary reason we petitioned for a biological status review,” said Ted Forsgren, CCA Florida Executive Director, “was to get the truth on the table, and the only way to achieve that goal was through this process.”

To receive by E-mail a complete copy of Preliminary Biological Status Review of the Florida Manatee and a companion document, Population Viability Analysis of the Florida Manatee, send a request to info@ccaflorida.org.

Nine States Receive $200,000 From the FishAmerica Foundation

Nearly $200,000 in grants have recently been awarded to nine coastal states through a community-based fisheries habitat restoration program sponsored by the American Sportfishing Association’s FishAmerica Foundation and the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Striped bass, salmon and shad are among the prized fisheries to benefit from 14 matching grants of up to $30,000 awarded to community partners in Alaska, California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

“We’re supporting quite a range of fisheries restoration projects, and what’s most impressive about all of them is the can-do attitude and enthusiasm of citizens in these communities,” said Mike Nussman, President and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association. “That energy from partners and volunteers makes FishAmerica investments go a long way for fish in prime habitats across the country.”

Volunteers transporting oyster shells for use in construction
of new, live oyster bars in Tampa Bay.

More than 40 partner groups and hundreds of volunteers will contribute 15,000 hours to these efforts to improve water quality, revegetate river shorelines and coastal wetlands and improve fish migration pathways. These pro-jects are part of larger state-wide efforts to restore key watersheds and revive sportfish-eries that are important to recreation, local commerce and tourism.

This round of matching grants closes the first of three major grant cycles per year for the FishAmerica Foundation, the conservation and research projects arm of the American Sportfishing Association created nearly 20 years ago. With nearly $1 million provided annually for grass-roots conservation pro-jects in all 50 states, the Fish-America Foundation helps community partners build fish ladders, stock fish, create fishing ponds and improve habitat and fishing opportunities.

The Tampa Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association Florida will use nearly $11,000 to restore fisheries habitat at Ballast Point Park, a popular spot for snook, redfish, sheepshead and black drum fishing. Volunteers will remove a concrete sea wall to prevent further shoreline erosion and destruction of wetland spawning areas. They also will create an artificial reef along 200 feet of shoreline, and plant native wetland vegetation and mangroves.

In 2001, FishAmerica Foundation awarded $34,400 to CCA Florida. The donation funded an oyster bar restoration project in Tampa Bay and a series of mangrove restoration projects on Florida’s Central East Coast under the direction of the CCA Florida Orlando Chapter. Both projects have been very successful and are currently under consideration for additional funding in 2002.

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We are deeply appreciative of Mercury Marine for their continued support of CCA Florida
conservation initiatives.  Mercury donates two motors for every CCA Florida banquet. 

CCA Florida would also like to recognize:

FLORIDA SPORTSMAN MAGAZINE and the WICKSTROM FAMILY for their generous support for our membership growth program and their work for marine conservation in Florida.

CALUSA CAST NETS and CRACKER CAST NETS for their consistent and longtime support of marine conservation through donated and discounted cast nets provided for every CCA Florida fundraising banquet.

THE ORVIS COMPANY who continues to make a significant annual donation of merchandise to CCA Florida.

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