Saving Seafood

Rick Scott Calls on NOAA to Work With FWC on Investigation of Shark Abuse in Florida

May 11, 2021 — On Friday, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., sent a letter to Benjamin Friedman, the deputy undersecretary for operations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), urging the agency to work directly with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to provide any federal assistance needed in its investigation into allegations of tiger shark abuse in Citrus County.

The letter is below.

Dear Mr. Friedman:

This week, shocking images emerged showing boaters capturing and allegedly abusing a young tiger shark in Citrus County, Florida. These images are abhorrent and do not reflect the overwhelming respect and appreciation that Floridians have for our natural habitats and the species that call them home.

During my time as governor of Florida, and now U.S. senator, I have worked directly with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to protect our environment, properly manage our natural resources, and hold bad actors accountable. I understand that FWC is actively investigating the shocking photos from this incident and while that agency is certainly the proper investigative authority, I write today to encourage you to work collaboratively with FWC in any way possible to ensure those deliberately mistreating our wildlife are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. This is an important opportunity to build on state and federal partnerships and I ask that you make sure your agency stands fully prepared to offer any assistance requested.

Read the full story at Florida Daily

Coast Guard suspends search for missing boater

February 8, 2021 — In the first 24 hours after a 30-foot recreational crab boat was found empty and stuck on the pillars of the Buckman Bridge, personnel in the water and from the air searched more than 72 square miles of the St. Johns River looking for the missing boater. That area is roughly the same size as Washington, D.C.

Shortly before 8 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard said that it suspended its search for the missing man.

The Coast Guard, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission joined local responders in the search shortly after an off-duty police officer reported seeing a boat spinning aimlessly in a circle in the St. Johns River just before 8 a.m. Thursday. Minutes later, it crashed into the bridge.

FWC, the lead agency, identified the missing man as 20-year-old Michael Vaughn III, of St. Augustine, who was out crab fishing by himself. Local fishermen, who said they know Vaughn, pray that he’s found. One of them told News4Jax he believes the younger Vaughn was out on the water alone around 6 a.m. Thursday.

Read the full story at News4Jax

FLORIDA: Shrinking Population Forces Shutdown of Oyster Harvesting in Florida Bay

December 17, 2020 — Florida officials voted Wednesday to shut down oyster harvesting in Apalachicola Bay, a major source of the nation’s supply, due to a diminished population caused by low freshwater flows.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved a measure that will suspend all harvesting of wild oysters from the bay through December 2025, or “until 300 bags per acre of adult oysters can be found on a significant number of reefs.”

The final rule also bans on-the-water possession of oyster harvesting equipment in Apalachicola Bay, which encompasses St. George Sound, East Bay, Indian Lagoon and St. Vincent Sound. Their canals, channels, rivers and creeks are also off-limits to harvesting for the next five years.

Historically, nearly 90% of Florida’s commercial oyster harvest and about 10% of the entire U.S. supply came from Apalachicola Bay, according to the commission.

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

FLORIDA: FWC extends Lionfish Challenge and harvesters can win prizes

August 10, 2020 — The coronavirus has meant fewer people fishing and fewer divers spearing the invasive lionfish, which has led the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to extend its annual Lionfish Challenge.

Lionfish are a nonnative invasive species that have a potential negative impact on Florida’s native wildlife and habitat, according to the FWC.

The goal of the challenge is to encourage and reward recreational and commercial divers to remove lionfish from Florida waters, according to information provided by FWC. Winners in several categories were to be announced at the sixth annual Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day, but the 2020 event has been canceled; the next event is now scheduled for May 15-16, 2021.

As a result, the Lionfish Challenge was been extended, with participants now having until Nov. 1 to submit their lionfish.

Read the full story at the Pensacola News Journal

Florida Cuts Stone Crab Season By Two Weeks, After Proposing A Five-Week Cut

July 23, 2020 — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reeled in a compromise after dramatic changes it proposed to stone crabbing made the industry snap.

After originally threatening to shorten the stone crab season by five weeks, the commission conceded to complaints in a virtually held meeting on Wednesday and shortened the season by only two weeks, with a new end date of May 1. The new rules go into effect Oct. 1.

The commission finalized its rules after hosting a series of virtual workshops since June with industry stakeholders, who widely criticized the agency’s original proposals.

On Wednesday, commissioners acknowledged that the new rules – even with a May 1 end of season – would succeed in keeping more than 300,000 pounds of stone crabs from being harvested, which should surpass the agency’s goal of saving 1 million pounds of stone crabs from harvest over a five-year period.

The compromise will allow stone crabbers to enjoy the economic benefit of Easter and Mother’s Day sales, said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fisherman’s Association.

Read the full story at WUFT

FLORIDA: Funding process for Keys fishermen slowly unfolds

May 13, 2020 — Both commercial and for-hire fishermen in the Florida Keys hit hard by the economic shutdown spurred by the novel coronavirus may apply to receive a portion of $23.6 million allocated to the state through the CARES Act Stimulus.

Of the $300 million slugged for federal fisheries’ assistance, Florida is to receive about 12.7%, or the fourth largest share behind Alaska, Washington and Massachusetts.

While Capt. Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, says the Keys fisheries have been slighted, he remains optimistic about the upcoming lobster season.

“This pales in comparison to what was made available to the agriculture and livestock industries, but this is what we have to work with,” he said Monday. “We have a lot to be concerned over. It was the importance of the Keys fishermen that helped us out [in Monroe] of the 2008 recession fairly well. We could have the same rebound if we, in fact, maintain a strong fishery. We export 80% of live lobster to China, and when that fishery reopens on Aug. 6, we don’t know what the market in China will be. We’re hoping for a strong market.”

NOAA will administer the funds through the interstate marine fisheries arms. For here, that’s the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which will, in turn, contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to identify and establish a plan for fishermen to apply for funds.

Read the full story at Florida Keys News

Florida’s freshwater turtles falling prey to the international black market

March 4, 2020 — Florida freshwater turtles are being illegally caught and exported live in increasingly large numbers to keep up with demand for their meat, their supposed medicinal purposes and their value as pets, state wildlife officials said this month.

The black market trade is putting a strain on the state’s already vulnerable fresh water and terrestrial turtle populations, and officials say they expect demand to grow along with the dollar amount poachers in Florida can fetch.

Depending on the species, harvesters can make anywhere from $300 to more than $16,000 for a single turtle, officials say.

The appetite for freshwater turtles in Asian countries like China, Indonesia and India is already measured in tons per day, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and it has reached the point where it is unsustainable. While China has large farms raising turtles, the demand for wild caught adult turtles in the country is exploding.

Turtles live a long time, some species from 80 to more than 100 years, and they reach sexual maturity later in life than many other animals. This combination makes their populations particularly at risk to not only poaching, but to development, traffic and predatory animals, as well as sea level rise and climate change.

Read the full story from the Miami Herald at the Baltimore Sun

FLORIDA: Lionfish populations are down. But experts aren’t sure why or how long it might last

February 20, 2020 — Lionfish populations seem to be down at frequently fished reefs statewide, but experts aren’t quite sure why or how long the decline might last.

Earlier this month, scientists reported that a disease that creates open sores on invasive lionfish collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico may have contributed to a recent population decline.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is unsure of whether the apparent population decrease can be attributed to the disease, mitigation efforts, a natural ebb and flow of invasive species populations or a combination of those factors.

“What we do know is people are seeing them less and less on frequently visited reefs right now, and we do know they’re still in deep waters,” said Amanda Nalley, public information specialist for FWC. “It’s kind of one of those things, it’s fun to talk about, but there’s a lot of caveats and a lot we don’t know.”

Read the full story at the Pensacola News Journal

They filleted their fish at sea. That’s against the law, Coast Guard says

February 7, 2020 — The U.S. Coast Guard stopped a sport fishing boat off Key Largo Monday and found several conservation violations, including the importation of queen conch, the harvest of which has been illegal in Florida since the 1980s, according to the agency.

A boarding party from the Cutter Charles David, Jr. pulled over the vessel, the Salt Shaker II, about 13 miles southeast of Key Largo and found 10 fillets of snapper and grouper, and 26 fillets of wahoo “in illegal carcass condition,” according to the Coast Guard, meaning the fish were filleted at sea.

Officer Bobby Dube, a spokesman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said any fish that has a legal bag limit, meaning anglers can only keep a certain amount, must be brought back to shore whole.

Read the full story at the Miami Herald

Florida Man Sentenced for Killing Endangered Sawfish

January 24, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Chad Ponce, a 38-year old commercial fishermen, is facing 2 years probation, 80 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine for killing an endangered smalltooth sawfish. A judge determined this sentence on December 19, 2019, after a joint investigation by NOAA Fisheries and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) confirmed Ponce used a power saw to cut the rostrum (saw or bill) off of the live fish before discarding its body back into the ocean.

The St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office and FWC received a tip reporting the capture and gross mishandling of a large (12-14 foot) smalltooth sawfish off the coast of Ponte Vedra, Florida, on July 18, 2018. The sawfish was incidentally caught in one of Ponce’s commercial shrimp trawl nets earlier that day.

Upon retrieval of the net Ponce, captain of the Triton II, first attempted to use a hacksaw on the rostrum, but witnesses report he tossed that saw into the ocean when it didn’t work. Ponce then used a power saw to cut the rostrum off the live animal. Another fisherman in a vessel adjacent to the trawler witnessed the incident and reported it to FWC’s Report Sawfish for Science Hotline.  

This hotline is typically used to document sightings and incidental captures by recreational anglers of sawfish for the purpose of monitoring the population. The report was passed on to NOAA, which oversees the conservation of species listed under the Endangered Species Act.

NOAA and FWC opened an investigation into the alleged violation. FWC sent an officer offshore to the location of the Triton II on the day of the report. DNA evidence connecting Ponce to the crime was gathered in the course of the investigation.

Read the full release here