|
CCA Files Lawsuit Against Decision to Close Gulf Grouper (Seawatch, October 2005)
by Rick Farren, CCA Florida Communications Director
The legal action challenges the authority of the National Marine Fisheries Service to close recreational fishing for all Gulf of Mexico grouper species under the guise of protecting red grouper.
If you’ve been to a tackle store on the Gulf coast recently, or checked one of the Internet's’s fishing website forums, then you are no doubt aware of the controversy over the decision by federal managers to close the recreational grouper season in the Gulf of Mexico for November and December of this year. Recreational anglers from Pensacola to Naples are simply stunned and outraged over the decision.
Many consider it perhaps the most egregious and inexplicable rule ever passed down by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), not because the feds shouldn’t take steps when there’s a concern about overfishing, but because they had other, far less draconian options from which to choose. Adding insult to injury NMFS chose to ignore the pleas of thousands of saltwater anglers, nine members of the Florida Congressional delegation, both of Florida’s U.S. Senators and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Legal Action to Stop the Closure
In August, after unsuccessfully petitioning NMFS to rescind its interim red grouper rule, the Coastal Conservation Association filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Fort Myers, Florida, challenging the authority of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to close the entire grouper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico.
?We feel that NMFS action to close the entire grouper fishery is illegal and unnecessary to conserve and maintain red grouper in the Gulf,? said David Howton, chairman of CCA Florida.
The action taken by NMFS is based on the estimated recreational catch of red grouper, which jumped from 1.536 million pounds in 2003 to 3.53 million pounds in 2004—an unprecedented increase in the history of red grouper management. The figures are even more suspect considering that four major hurricanes hit Florida in 2004, greatly reducing the amount of time anglers spent on the water. In addition, early recreational catch numbers for the first four months of 2005 are back in line with 2003 levels, further throwing the 2004 numbers into question.
Recreational harvest numbers are based on Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Surveys (MRFSS). The final figures are derived from phone and dockside surveys, which are then plugged into a formula to determine catch estimates.
"It’s important to note these are estimates," said Ted Forsgren, CCA Florida Executive Director. "It’s not supposed to be exact data. NMFS is using the data for a level of actions for which it was never intended."
"We would hope," added Forsgren, "that federal fishery managers would be mature enough to know when there’s a goofy number in the estimates and would proceed with caution until more data can be collected."
Nevertheless, NMFS went ahead and implemented the interim measure last month, reducing the red grouper bag limit to one fish, reducing the aggregate bag limit for all other species of Gulf grouper from five to three, and placing a total closure on the recreational harvest of all grouper species for the months of November and December.
Ironically, the interim rule will close the recreational grouper fishery at a time when commercial fishermen can take red grouper with 10,000, 7,000 and 5,000 pound trip limits. In addition, more than 80 percent of all red grouper landed annually is taken by commercial operations. Within that number, 60 to 70 percent is harvested by longliners.
CCA Florida has always felt that the large amount of red grouper taken on longlines is at the heart of the issue. In fact, a 2001 recommendation by the FWC to prohibit the use of longlines out to 50 fathoms was rejected by NMFS because of preliminary signs that the species was on track for recovery.
Now the NMFS interim plan would reduce the annual recreational landings of red grouper to 1.25 million pounds. Yet according to data from the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, just 25 commercial longline boats took 1.355 million pounds of red grouper in 2004. (There were 173 longline boats with reported red grouper landings that year.)
In its lawsuit, CCA is challenging the right of federal managers to use an interim rule to close fishing for all 12 species of Gulf grouper to protect one species. "We’re not against reducing mortality to protect a species that’s being overfished," said George Geiger, CCA Florida Vice Chairman. "But an interim rule is an extraordinary exercise of authority that by-passes public scrutiny and should be applied narrowly to stop overfishing on a single species."
In choosing to extend the rule to healthy grouper stocks, NMFS and the Department of Commerce may have exceeded it management authority.
Said Geiger, "It’s an action that should be wielded as a scalpel not a machete."
CCA also asked the court to expedite its analysis in order to ensure that a federal district court will have the opportunity to determine the legality of the Secretary’s action before the closure goes into effect on Nov. 1.
On September 8, U.S. Magistrate Douglas Frazier issued an order putting the lawsuit on a fast track for an October 24 hearing in federal court in Ft. Myers.
FWC Opposed Rule – State Regulations Unchanged
With stocks located mainly in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the vast majority—well over 90 percent—of red grouper are landed in Florida. That makes the FWC an important player in the management of the species.
The FWC, which has a far better record when it comes to the management of marine species, looked at the same data and voted unanimously to oppose the NMFS proposal. Instead, the FWC commissioners recommended reducing the red grouper bag limit from two to one fish per day while leaving regulations for other grouper species unchanged. They felt that lowering the bag limit would address any problem that may exist in the red grouper fishery without closing the entire grouper fishery for two months.
The FWC also pointed out that the red grouper bag limit had already been recently reduced from 5 to 2, and not enough time had passed for that change to go into effect. In a June 24 letter to NMFS, the FWC stated the one-fish reduction in the bag limit was an "appropriate and measured response to the situation," adding they would immediately adopt such a measure in state waters if NMFS agreed.
Nevertheless, NMFS rejected the FWC’s recommendations. As a result, the FWC took the unusual course of not adopting the federal interim rule in Florida, choosing instead to make no changes to grouper limits in state waters.
Politicians Weigh-In
In addition to opposition by the FWC and saltwater anglers, both of Florida‘s U.S. Senators and nine members of the Congressional delegation opposed the new rule. In a June 17 letter to NMFS, the Congressmen, led by Representative Adam Putnam (R-Bartow), said the rule would “place an undue hardship on the many men and women who earn a living in this industry and would not be a feasible long-term solution to ensuring that the red grouper population is protected.”
The Congressmen also pointed out that ". . . recreational fishermen only comprise roughly a quarter of the harvest of red and gag grouper each year, yet this proposed rule only affects this one segment of the fishing industry."
Both Florida U.S. Senators Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson also sent letters to NMFS opposing the rule and questioning the manner in which it was enacted. Senator Nelson wrote, “Finally you must take into consideration the harmful economic effect that a two month closure will have on those who depend on recreational fishing for their livelihood. Florida’s $50 billion tourism industry is the lifeblood of the state. Fishing tourism has been estimated at over $5 billion a year, and the proposed closure months are in the heart of a peak season for fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Charter boats, bait shops, area restaurants and many more businesses along Florida’s west coast will be devastated by a closure.”
Past Gulf Grouper Management Has Been Inequitable
Federal actions toward Gulf recreational fishermen have also been slanted. A CCA analysis of Gulf grouper landings before and after federal regulations clearly indicated that the impact of 11 years of gag grouper regulations have caused annual recreational landings to be reduced by an average of 42 percent. Commercial landings were not reduced at all during the same time period, and in fact, after federal regulations were enacted, average annual commercial landings of gag grouper actually increased.
Florida Should Manage a Florida Species
Even though the vast majority of red grouper are caught off Florida and landed in Florida, management of the species is controlled by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, which is composed of commercial and recreational representatives from all Gulf States. As a result, commercial interests in states such as Mississippi have a major influence in how species off Florida are managed.
CCA Florida has long felt that the FWC could do a far better job of managing this Florida species. To that end CCA has recommended that the FWC petition NMFS under provisions within the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to cede authority to the state of Florida to develop fishery management plans for red grouper. At a meeting in June the FWC commissioners voted to instruct their staff to investigate the possibility of assuming management of the species.
Working on Next Year’s Rule
While the lawsuit remains the last chance to reverse the two-month closure on all Gulf grouper, work continues on future regulations. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is required to develop regulations to replace the NMFS interim rule when it expires on January 31, 2006. Hearings began in September over management alternatives for Gulf grouper that will go into effect at that time.
CCA is calling upon members, fishing clubs, charter boat captains and saltwater anglers to oppose unwarranted federal proposals. Instead, CCA will encourage the council to adopt the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s recommendation of reducing the red grouper bag limit from 2 to 1 with no closed season.
"We’ll continue to work with NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, as well as the State of Florida, to promote the conservation of all groupers in the Gulf of Mexico," said CCA Florida Chairman Howton. "At the same time, we want to make sure that the decisions made with regard to that effort work within the fishery management system as it was intended."
For more information on the red grouper issue go to Grouper Advocacy Issues.
Support the Suit for Red Grouper
CCA Florida is seeking support for legal actions against the NMFS grouper closure. Anyone wishing to contribute to a fund set up for the grouper lawsuit can send a check to:
CCA Florida
3333 S. Orange Avenue
S-103
Orlando, FL 32806
To contribute over the phone please call (407) 854-7002, ext. 10.
[Return to Table of Contents]
More No-Fishing Zones Sought for Dry Tortugas (Seawatch, October 2005)
Park officials want to close another 46 square miles to all types of fishing, even catch and release.
Another attempt has been underway to close fishing in a large part of Dry Tortugas National Park. Even though approximately 160 square miles of the park is already closed to fishing, park officials are trying to exclude anglers from another 46 square miles within the language of a new management agreement.
Although not adverse to strong, conservation-oriented fishing regulations, CCA Florida has consistently opposed the creation of still another no-fishing zone within a park that already has large areas closed to even catch-and-release fishing. In addition, the new area being considered for closure is under extremely light fishing pressure.
"National parks throughout the United States including Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier and Everglades traditionally allow carefully managed fishing. There’s no reason why the same approach can’t be used successfully in the Dry Tortugas to protect resources while allowing access to public lands by the public," said Ted Forsgren, CCA Florida Executive Director.
In the case of the Dry Tortugas the state of Florida still holds ownership to the submerged lands with the park, therefore the management agreement requires approval by the Governor and Cabinet. (The Cabinet is made up of Governor Jeb Bush, Attorney General Charlie Crist, Agricultural and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher).
At a Cabinet meeting in August, the management plan was approved, but at CCA’s urging, the Cabinet withheld approval of the fisheries closure until recommendations can be provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The FWC has exclusive authority over fishing on state lands.
The Governor and Cabinet will take final action on the fisheries proposal after receiving the FWC’s comments.
[Return to Table of Contents]
Shrimp Trawl Bycatch Problem Extends Beyond Red Snapper (Seawatch, October 2005)
by Skeet Lores, Ph.D., CCA Florida Member
You may have heard that the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) recently filed a petition with the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to force a reduction in shrimp trawl bycatch of red snapper. The action was taken because more than 80 percent of all juvenile red snapper die as bycatch in shrimp nets. This occurs mostly in the Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana over mud bottoms where juvenile red snapper go when they are about 1-inch long until they reach a length of about 6 to 8 inches. After that, when the snapper are 2 to 3 years old, they move to reef areas where they stay for the rest of their lives.
Juvenile red snapper, however, are not the only fish caught as shrimp trawl bycatch. Inshore shrimpers, who will not be affected by the CCA petition, also catch a wide variety of sportfish, including juvenile seatrout, redfish, and flounder along with a majority of non-sportfish species. Nevertheless, I consider reduction of shrimp bycatch at all levels one of the most important conservation efforts that CCA has ever undertaken. And, whether you want to catch trophy fish, or just want more trout, reds and flounder on the end of your line, it is important to you as well.
Five years ago, the Pensacola Chapter decided to choose a conservation cause that we could work on that would give the chapter a goal. After reviewing several ideas we decided that the reduction of shrimp bycatch in Pensacola Bay would be the most important issue we could pursue so we created a “Finfish Restoration Proposal.” One reason behind this choice is that although finfish restoration is one of the important outcomes of shrimp bycatch reduction, there are many more positive affects to the ecosystem that are often overlooked outside the field of marine ecology.
Bycatch is the term that applies to all of the unintended casualties caught in shrimp nets. It’s composed mostly of juvenile fish such as spot, croakers, menhaden and hardhead catfish. Only occasionally do any of the sportfish species that most recreational fishermen seek ever make the "top ten" list of fish caught as bycatch. However, given the typical bycatch ratio of 5 pounds of fish for every pound of shrimp caught and the massive numbers of fish caught in shrimp nets, the number of sportfish lost can be staggering! Even fish that make up less than 1 percent of the bycatch can represent a significant loss. In addition, in order to grow to trophy size or even keeper size, sportfish need to feed on the forage fish that are typically caught as bycatch. Without forage fish, many of the sportfish we catch both inshore and offshore simply can’t survive. Although most don’t die of outright starvation, they become susceptible to disease or predation or their reproductive potential is reduced when food supplies are affected.
Actually there are even more important reasons to reduce bycatch—reasons that can be summed up in a phrase used by ecologists—"Ecosystem Function." In layman’s terms, ecosystem function is the sum of all the processes that occur in an ecosystem, in this case an estuary.
Among the most productive ecosystems in the world, estuaries function as a giant food chain turning tiny algal cells into food such as fish, crabs, oysters, and shrimp. Estuaries provide this function with very little effort on our part; all we have to do is harvest the product. However, we cause all kinds of problems when we overharvest the product.
For example, many of the estuaries around the country are in trouble because of excess nutrients in the system. These nutrients increase the turbidity in the water making it difficult for seagrass plants to get the sunlight that they need, plus excess algae is produced which sinks to the bottom and uses up the dissolved oxygen in the water. As a result we lose important habitats such as seagrass beds, oyster reefs, and even mud bottoms. The reduction of our fisheries is making the problem even worse because there are fewer fish to consume the nutrients. Rebuilding all components of the fisheries in our estuaries (shrimp, oysters and fish) will increase the capacity of the system to assimilate the nutrients and in the long run will increase the productivity.
We can do a much better job of managing our resources by learning to harvest the benefits without destroying the function. For example, we need to avoid inshore shrimping in the spring when bycatch ratios of shrimp to finfish are at their peak, sometimes exceeding a 10 to 1 ratio. Instead, we need to do most of the shrimp harvesting in the fall when fish are generally leaving the estuary. This would allow fish and shrimp to complete their function (consuming the productivity of the estuary) during the summer when estuaries are more prone to nutrient problems. Plus, shrimp harvested in the fall are larger and more valuable. In other words, we don’t have to eliminate bay shrimping, just postpone the harvest.
This was basically the idea we proposed to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in 2003 for Pensacola Bay. However, when the FWC held a workshop on reducing bycatch, the only option acceptable to the shrimpers was an endorsement program that would freeze the current number of licenses while allowing existing shrimpers to continue. When they quit the business their license would not be transferable. Such a program, which would eventually reduce the number of shrimpers, would also reduce the bycatch.
I still believe that improved timing of the shrimp harvest in the estuaries is the better management choice, however, anything we do that reduces inshore shrimp bycatch will significantly help our fisheries and the water quality of our estuaries. It’s even more important that we act soon because when NOAA begins limiting the shrimping in the Gulf to reduce the red snapper bycatch, it will increase the pressure on inshore shrimping.
E.M. "Skeet" Lores, Ph.D., is a retired marine scientist who worked for the U.S. EPA for over 30 years. He was a lead researcher on effects of nutrients in estuaries and on seagrasses.
New Net Rules Challenged in Court (Seawatch, October 2005)
Netting rules adopted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in March, which became effective July 1, are again being challenged by commercial netters. The new rules spell out the prohibition against use of gill or entangling nets in Florida waters, clearly define monofilament nets as entangling nets, prohibit use of nets over 500 square feet in near-shore and inshore waters, specify that a net with stretched mesh size larger than two inches is an entangling net and clarifies how to measure mesh area. Other provisions clarify language regarding connecting nets and establish the maximum number of meshes per foot of corkline.
On June 30, however, commercial netting interests in Wakulla County filed a lawsuit seeking to attack the rules claiming they improperly restrict the use of nets authorized by the constitution.
A motion for summary judgment in the case is expected to be filed by the Attorney General’s office and the FWC from the position that the issue has already been litigated numerous times. A similar case was rejected by an appellate court last year. CCA Florida is carefully following the case and will intervene in defense of the net ban if it becomes necessary.
|
