May
1997 Issue
#67
May
1997 Issue
#67
SeaWatch is underwritten by THE ORVIS COMPANY
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Critical New Net Ban Implementation And Enforcement Laws Passed By Legislature
by Rick Farren
A down to the wire push by a group of committed legislators and saltwater angling conservationists resulted in final day legislative approval for new laws to prevent "scam" nets and increase penalties for repeat net ban violators.
In a remarkable and unprecedented turn-around, and with only a few hours remaining in the 1997 session, crucial marine resource protection legislation that was pronounced dead just days earlier, was passed by both houses of the legislature. The important conservation laws will serve to strengthen enforcement of marine resource violations and plug loopholes in the Save Our Sealife Amendment.
"Additionally," said Ted Forsgren, CCA Florida executive director, "the action may signify an important legislative momentum shift towards fisheries conservation. For the second consecutive year, following the implementation of the constitutional amendment, significant new laws have been enacted to clarify, implement and enforce the will of millions of Florida voters."
The need for legislative action was obvious - a steady increase in poaching violations are making a mockery of the Florida constitution; while at the same time, netters continue to experiment with gear designed to circumvent the intent of the net ban and the72 percent of Florida’s voters who passed it.
Grassroots Effort Made the Difference
The legislative session opened on March 3, and nine days later The Marine Fisheries Protection Act (SB 412), which was sponsored by Senator Jack Latvala (R-Palm Harbor), was brought up for consideration by the Senate Natural Resources Committee. Noted at the time by CCA Florida as "the most important and comprehensive fisheries bill that we have seen in many years," it addressed implementation of fisheries protection laws, "scam" nets, and outlaw netting activity and law enforcement.
During the days leading up to that first committee meeting, and at each subsequent step in the legislative process, CCA Florida’s grassroots volunteers in specific voting districts around the state contacted their senators and representatives seeking support for the bill’s passage.
The committee review included a two-hour debate during which public testimony was provided by commercial and conservation interests including CCA Florida. Although a few minor provisions were changed, the bill remained largely intact, and was unanimously passed out of committee.
The one negative amendment was the addition of an experimental baitfish tarp net program for the Panhandle. However, the amendment also would have the effect of banning tarp nets in all other parts of Florida. The experimental program "sunsets" (expires) after three years. Commented Forsgren, "Although we would have preferred a complete banning of tarp nets, the amendment effectively reduced a huge loophole to a pinhole."
The next review of the Senate bill took place in early April with a hearing before the Criminal Justice Committee. An attempt was made, and defeated, to attach an amendment that would have dramatically changed the makeup of the MFC by requiring that individuals with direct financial conflicts of interest be appointed to serve on the commission. This was the same old MFC "stacking" bill that conservationists have fought and killed five times in the last ten years.
Again, the Grassroots Network had an important impact on the committee’s deliberation and passage of the bill. "In meetings with the senators and their top aides prior to the committee meeting," said Forsgren, "I was told that they had received numerous calls from their home districts in support of SB 412."
With the legislation moving well in the Senate, the focus turned to the House of Representatives where the companion bill to SB 412, HB 693 by Representative R. Z. "Sandy" Safley (R-Clearwater), was being scheduled for review by four committees beginning with the House Water and Resource Management Committee.
Despite solid evidence of rampant resource violations and attempts to circumvent the Florida constitution, the members of the House Water and Resource Management Committee failed to approve the legislation. Misleading testimony by commercial fishermen during the meeting swayed seven of the 12 committee members.
Under normal circumstances, when a bill fails in committee in either body of the legislature it has little chance of being resurrected. In fact, veteran legislative observers as well as many of the state’s newspapers reported the fisheries legislation dead.
The committee’s action, however, energized thousands of the 2.8 milion voters who originally approved the net ban amendment in 1994. In addition, outdoor and editorial writers from major newspapers blasted members of the House committee who voted against the legislation. Calls, faxes and letters poured into the Capitol from outraged citizens throughout Florida. At the same time a number of legislators remained determined to stop the skyrocketing illegal netting activities.
As the session neared the end, the Marine Resource Protection Amendments from the original Senate Bill 412 were amended onto various pieces of legislation being considered by both the Senate and the House. The combination of strong grassroots support and conservation-minded legislators eventually led to passage of the new laws on the final day of the session as part of two distinct bills, HB 715 and HB 1119.
In the Senate, the effort was led by Senator Jack Latvala (R-Palm Harbor) who worked constantly throughout the session to gain passage. The net ban enforcement bill was his number one priority. Credit also goes to Senator John McKay (R-Bradenton) for his strong support of the legislation, and to Senator Charlie Crist (R-St. Petersburg) who introduced a bill to ban tarp nets that was incorporated into the original Senate legislation.
The House effort was headed by Representatives R. Z. "Sandy" Safley (R-Clearwater) and John Laurent (R-Bartow) and they were assisted by Representatives Ken Pruitt (R-Port St. Lucie) and Charlie Sembler (R-Vero Beach).
According to Forsgren, another key to the success was that Senate President Toni Jennings and House Speaker Daniel Webster worked closely with and supported the efforts of those Senate and House members to gain passage of the legislation.
"These new net-ban laws are extremely important because they set the stage for complete implementation and enforcement of the constitutional amendment approved by 72 per-cent of the voters in 1994," said Karl Wickstrom, who chaired the Save Our Sealife Amendment campaign which banned large-scale inshore netting.
"Conservationists owe a special thanks to Senator Jack Latvala, who gave the netting bill his top priority. As chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, Latvala was able to insist on its passage. It was an historic power play that will end numerous maneuvers that have tried to undermine the constitutional goals."
In summary, the new law:
- Enhances MFC rule-making by providing clear statutory authority for the MFC to implement the net ban constitutional amendment.
- Creates a statutory "allowable gear" standard which states that unless the MFC has "expressly authorized" any net then it cannot be used (hand-held cast nets and dip nets are exempted from the provision). Thus, there could no longer be any sudden introduction and use of "innovative" scam-type nets because new gear types would have to be reviewed and pre-approved by the MFC. The standard will go into effect July 1, 1998 and applies to all nets greater than 500 square feet. For currently legal shrimp trawls and purse seines, the standard will apply when the MFC adopts rules for those gear types.
- Defines as an entangling net and prohibits any net made "wholly or partially" from monofilament or twisted monofilament material (except for hand-held dip nets and cast nets).
- Defines "nets" and "netting" so as to plug loopholes being used by the tarp "scam" netters to evade the 500-square-foot maximum net size in nearshore and inshore waters. However, a specific exemption was provided for a "pilot program" for up to seven nets (tarp purse seines) in Wakulla, Franklin, Gulf, Bay, Walton and Okaloosa counties to take nine baitfish species. This exemption will automatically expire in three years. The MFC is required to establish catch limits for all the species not to exceed 50 percent of the average annual harvest prior to the net ban.
- Places simultaneous possession of mullet and gill nets, which was designated a major violation in 1996, with other major violations, so as to be subject to bigger fines and the "strike three" provision (i.e. three major convictions in seven years results in a lifetime revocation of fishing privileges).
- Adds penalties for fishing when license has been suspended or revoked; first two times are misdemeanors, a third violation within a seven-year period becomes a third degree felony.
- Requires seizure of illegally used nets upon arrest and destruction of such nets upon conviction.
The proposed changes to MFC rule-making authority which would have eliminated the requirement for MFC rules to be approved by the Governor and Cabinet did not gain approval. The MFC rule approval process stays the same as current law.