SavingSeaFood - FLORIDA: Snapper fishing ban gets final OK; affects fishermen in Florida, Georgia

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FLORIDA: Snapper fishing ban gets final OK; affects fishermen in Florida, Georgia

A federal plan to shut down bottom fishing in a large area off Florida’s east coast has won a final approval, raising fears of lost work among fishermen in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia.

“It’s not good. It’s probably going to put all the party boats out of business for sure,” said Benny Hendrix, a charter boat operator in Fernandina Beach.

The closure of about 4,800 square miles of ocean bottom is part of a package of steps to protect red snapper from overfishing.

Although U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke formally approved that plan this week, his agency must still finalize a set of rules to implement the new limits.

Read the complete story from The Florida Times-Union.

MELISSA WOOD, NATIONAL FISHERMEN: Meting out the meager

May 22, 2012 - Listening to the New England Council's Groundfish Advisory Panel talk about how that industry is going to pay for monitoring costs is kind of like trying to figure out how to pay your bills when you've just lost your job. Though monitoring is important keeping costs down is critical. As Panel Member Gary Libby pointed out, "If we had 100 percent monitoring we probably wouldn't have an industry."

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