Saving Seafood

Legislation Introduced to Preserve Fishing Access in Biscayne National Park

July 31, 2015 — On the heels of the recent announcement to close over 10,000 acres of Biscayne National Park to fishing, a coalition of recreational fishing and boating organizations praised the introduction of a bipartisan bill, H.R. 3310, that will help stop this and similar unwarranted fishing closures from occurring. Led by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), and 28 other original sponsors, the “Preserving Public Access to Public Waters Act” requires the National Park Service and Office of National Marine Sanctuaries to have approval from state fish and wildlife agencies before closing state waters to recreational or commercial fishing.

“Probably the most concerning aspect of the Biscayne National Park marine reserve decision is the total disregard for the fisheries management expertise of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,” said Mike Leonard, Ocean Resource Policy director for the American Sportfishing Association. “The states are responsible for nearly all of our nation’s saltwater fisheries management successes. This legislative safeguard will prevent the federal government from ignoring the fisheries management expertise of the states in these types of situations.”

Throughout the development of the General Management Plan for Biscayne National Park, through which the marine reserve is being implemented, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has provided detailed recommendations to improve the condition of the fisheries resources in the park. The Commission has continually expressed its position that the proposed marine reserve is overly restrictive to the public; will not be biologically effective; and that less restrictive management tools can rebuild the park’s fisheries resources and conserve habitat.

 

Read the full story at Florida Sportsman

 

Atlantic Fishermen Frustrated by New Regulations

July 20, 2015 — The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is collecting feedback from dozens of fishing areas from Florida up to North Carolina about the snapper-grouper fishery.

At a public hearing at the Murrells Inlet Community Center Monday night, local fishermen spoke out against the proposed regulations.

A number of local commercial and some recreational fishermen said this council’s proposals are like Big Brother on the fishing industry.

They said fishermen should just be left alone to fish.

“We want some controversial items that are opposed by nearly all fishermen removed, like catch shares, which is an effort to privatize the fishery, electronic monitoring of a vessel, and more closed fishing areas,” said Tom Swatzel, a council member with Sustainable Fishing.  “We just don’t need those at this time.”

The Vision Project which was initially launched last year by SAFMC was blasted by local fishermen Monday night.

 

Read the full story at WPDE.com

 

FLORIDA: More than $20,000 of lobster and shrimp stolen from seafood supplier

July 10, 2015 — MIAMI, Fla. — Friday, customarily a big seafood consumption day, turned into a big seafood theft day at Miami’s Sea Land Distribution.

Thieves plowed a hole in a storage warehouse and stole $20,000 to $30,000 worth of mostly lobster and shrimp overnight. Perpetrators knew not only where but when to execute the heist for maximum take.

It was the first from the restaurant supplier in more than 30 years of business.

When The Fish You Eat Have Eaten Something Toxic

July 3, 2015 — Some tasty saltwater fish carry a toxin that you may never have heard of.

And a recent study found that more people in Florida may be getting sick from eating fish contaminated with the toxin than previously thought.

By comparing Florida public health records with survey results from thousands of fishermen, scientists from the University of Florida found that ciguatera fish poisoning, as the condition is called, is significantly underreported in the state.

Before the study was done, the prevailing estimate of ciguatera poisoning was 0.2 cases per 100,000 people per year. The latest work, led by epidemiologist Elizabeth Radke, suggests the cases may be more than 25 times higher.

Statewide, the case frequency may be as high as 5.6 cases per 100,000 people a year. In Miami-Dade County, the researchers put the number at 28 cases per 100,000, and in Monroe County it was 84 per 100,000.

Read the full story at New York Now

 

FLORIDA: Fish Poisoning More Common Than Believed

June 30, 2015 — Poisonings from a toxin carried by barracuda and other sport fish have been seriously underestimated in Florida, according to a new study — and the problem is far more common in fishing communities around the world than has been recognized, the lead author said.

In Florida, poisonings from the ciguatera toxin were highest among Hispanics, presumably because they are more fond of eating barracuda, according to the study, which was published this week in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Ciguatera (pronounced sig-WAH-terra) is produced by algae that grow in warm water, and there is a risk of it spreading north as ocean waters warm, said Elizabeth G. Radke, an epidemiologist at the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute and the lead author of the study.

Read the full story at the New York Times

FLORIDA: Baitfish populations cut dramatically on Space Coast, elsewhere

June 20, 2015 — FLORIDA — When managers and commissioners from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meet in Sarasota on Wednesday, they’ll be discussing several controversial subjects — including final rules for the first legal black bear hunt in nearly 30 years.

But the one that most directly affects Space Coast outdoors people is a resolution supporting the protection and regulation of forage fish species like mullet, menhaden and anchovies.

Menhaden stocks have definitely seen a drastic decline over the past 20 years. Just ask any fisherman that’s prowled the beaches of Brevard County — like Capt. Jim Ross.

Ross grew up fishing along the beach for cobia, amberjack, giant jack crevalle and a host of other species that were attracted to the moveable feast of menhaden (known locally as pogies.)

“We have 10 to 20 percent of the menhaden off the beaches that we used to,” Ross says. “You hear guys getting excited because they find a school of bait that might be the size of a Suburban and that’s not really that big. We used to have schools that would run outside the surf from the Cocoa Beach Pier to State Road 520.”

Read the full story at Florida Today