The official publication of the Coastal Conservation Association Florida
SEAWATCH December 2002 Issue #93
- California Bans Recreational Fishing
in Channel Islands -- by Rick Farren
- Remembering Past Successes and Looking Ahead to Future Challenges by Ted Forsgren
- Accuracy in Reporting -- letter by Ted Forsgren to the St. Petersburg Times
- Peace River Plan for Manatee Speed Zones Overturned by Fish and Wildlife Service
- A Good Year for CCA Florida -- by Jim Gray, CCA Florida's General Manager
- CCA Florida Restoration Efforts Continue in Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral and Tampa
California Bans Recreational Fishing in Channel Islands
by Rick Farren,
Communications Director of CCA Florida
The closing of large areas of California’s coastal
waters to recreational fishing could lead to bans in other states—especially
Florida.
In what may well be the first in a series of “no fishing zones”
in other states, California Governor Gray Davis dismissed the concerns
of both anglers and scientists by slamming the door on some of the most
popular recreational fishing areas in Southern California.
“We all have an interest in seeing healthy fish, especially anglers,”
said Mike Nussman, President and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association
(ASA). “The sportfishing community has long supported focused closures
as part of a larger management strategy, but this single-minded philosophy
of banning public access absent any scientific or economic merit is misguided.”
Under a decision announced in late October at a meeting of the California
Fish and Game Commission in Santa Barbara, coastal waters surrounding
the Channel Islands, equaling about 30 percent of Southern California’s
best fishing areas, will be placed permanently off-limits to all fishing—including
catch and release fishing. Not only will thousands of people in the region
no longer be able to pursue America’s most popular outdoor leisure
time sport, but local charter boats, hotels, restaurants and other businesses
that rely on angler dollars will suffer. Annual losses in retail sales
due to the closures may reach $50 million according to a recent analysis
by Southwick Associates, a leading natural resource economic consulting
firm.
California is second only to Florida in the number of anglers and the
amount of money spent on fishing. More than 2.4 million people in California
spend $2.38 billion on recreational fishing each year. In excess of 43,000
jobs and $60 million in California tax revenue is tied to recreational
fishing according to an American Sportfish-ing Association analysis of
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data.
Anglers are concerned that California may be only the first domino to
fall, triggering a broader movement toward unnecessary bans on recreational
fishing. Further closures are likely in California and similar efforts
are underway in other coastal states including Oregon, Massachusetts and
Florida. These efforts, aggressively pushed by several environmental organizations,
have moved forward despite concerns raised by anglers, conservation groups,
respected outdoor journalists and scientists.
“We have been cautioning Florida’s recreational anglers that
there is no guarantee that the waters they fish will always be open. Hundreds
of square miles of ocean once used for family fishing have already been
placed off limits in the Dry Tortugas and the Florida Keys,” said
Ted Forsgren, CCA Florida Executive Director. “We’ve also turned
back numerous attempts to close additional public waters in Florida, but
the threat continues on several fronts, and becomes even greater with
the California closure.”
Determined not to allow the California decision to set precedent, anglers
and conservation organizations nationwide have united to launch the Freedom
to Fish Campaign. The campaign reflects the shared interest conservation-minded
anglers have in advancing marine management programs based on sound science
—while ensuring access for family fishing opportunities when recreational
fishing is not jeopardizing fish populations. Led nationally by the American
Sportfishing Association, the group of supporters includes Coastal Conservation
Association, B.A.S.S./ESPN, International Game Fish Association, Jersey
Coast Anglers Association, National Marine Manufacturers Association,
Sport-fishing Association of California and United Anglers of Southern
California. With a combined membership more than a million strong, these
groups worked with the ASA to craft the Freedom To Fish Act, now pending
in Congress, and helped mobilize more than 5,000 angler letters petitioning
Congress for its passage.
“With Atlantic striped bass, redfish, white seabass,
and many other sportfish, anglers have demonstrated their willingness
to sacrifice fishing access or technique when it was necessary to recover
fish populations,” Nussman said. “What we’re seeing now
is the theoretical fervor for marine protected areas getting far ahead
of the scientific evidence to support such measures.”
Numerous independent authorities on fisheries management
have expressed unease over the lack of any empirical evidence in support
of marine protected areas and disputed the “no fishing zone”
advocates’ claim that anglers would benefit from massive closures.
In findings presented earlier this year to the California Fish and Game
Commission, Dr. Robert Shipp, an authority on fisheries management and
Marine Sciences Chair at the University of South Alabama, noted that better
implementation of existing regulations would be a more common-sense method
for recovering depressed fish populations.
“The California Commission went blasting ahead with
a ready, fire, aim approach,” said Tom Raftican, president of the
United Anglers of Southern California. “California anglers have just
been knocked flat by the train leaving the station. Other states need
to take notice because they’re next.”
To join the Freedom To Fish Campaign to protect fish and
citizens opportunity to go fishing, please visit www.FreedomToFish.org.
[return to Table
of Contents]
Remembering Past Successes
and Looking Ahead to Future Challenges
by Ted Forsgren, Executive Director of CCA Florida
For 18 years CCA Florida has been the leading advocate for marine fisheries
conservation in Florida. As a member you may already know the history
of our many conservation initiatives.
Before CCA came along in 1984, our coastal fisheries were declining at
an alarming rate. Redfish, Spanish mackerel, pompano, seatrout, and mullet
were being systematically depleted by an out-of-control commercial netting
industry. By organizing and working together, we brought about dramatic
changes in fisheries management. We made redfish a gamefish and passed
the historic “net ban” constitutional amendment. When commercial
purse seiners began taking millions of pounds of spawning redfish to feed
the “blackened redfish” fad, CCA stepped in to stop the slaughter.
We also turned back an attempt to introduce finfish trawls into Florida
waters, stopped the use of large tarp “scam” nets, and helped
create a unified, independent state fish and wildlife commission.
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The Tarp “Scam” Net experimental baitfish program was an attempt to circumvent the constitutional ban on using large nets in inshore waters. |
There were many other successes along the way, and every battle won brought
us closer to the great fishing that we enjoy today.
However, our work is not over. Our marine fisheries and recreational
saltwater angling continue to face new challenges. We still work on size,
bag, season and gear limits to protect fisheries and control commercial
and recreational take. However, saltwater anglers today are faced with
numerous other initiatives that threaten our very access to public waters
and the resources we have worked so hard to restore.
For example, there are numerous national groups now involved in marine
fisheries issues. These groups, who were nowhere to be found during the
major battles in the early days of fisheries conservation, have concluded
that the best way to restore fisheries is to prohibit all fishing in huge
areas of the ocean. These groups lump all commercial and recreational
fishing into the same category and advocate no fishing of any kind. They
believe if you prohibit one kind of fishing it’s only fair to prohibit
all fishing. CCA believes that there is no fairness in placing anglers
with 19-foot boats in the same category as 250-foot factory trawlers or
85-foot shrimp trawlers. We also believe it makes no sense at all to prohibit
topwater fishing for species like billfish, dolphin and wahoo when trying
to protect snappers and groupers located hundreds of feet below the surface.
These same groups argue that for some fish species recreational fishers
take more than commercial fishers. Some have even absurdly claimed that,
overall, recreational fishers take more fish than the commercial industry.
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In 1988 hundreds of CCA members traveled to Tallahassee to attend the final Florida Cabinet vote on making redfish a gamefish. |
It is true, for certain species like redfish, tarpon and snook, anglers
take the majority of fish. However, it is also true that those predominantly
recreational fisheries are among the best managed and healthiest of all
fisheries.
For sheer ocean biomass removal there is simply no comparison between
commercial and recreational fisheries—the commercial industry dwarfs
the recreational fisheries. A recent analysis of total fishery landings
in the Southeastern U.S. indicated that commercial fishery landings were
1.7 BILLION POUNDS, which equated to 94.6 percent of all total landings.
Recreational take was 5.4 percent. Those commercial totals don’t
even include the massive amounts of finfish and other marine life that
are caught, killed and discarded by commercial fisheries. In Florida alone,
it’s estimated that the by-kill from commercial shrimp trawls is
68-72 million pounds per year—which alone is greater than the total
landings of all of Florida’s saltwater recreational fishermen.
We hope that the unfortunate and growing confrontation over “no
fishing zones,” between groups that should be natural allies, can
be resolved. The no-fishing zone battles divert attention and effort away
from real solutions. However, CCA will not stand aside and allow important
recreational fishing areas to be closed when there are much better and
more proven means to restore fisheries. Remember the Florida redfish story.
The tremendous rebound in redfish populations is one of Florida’s
greatest fisheries successes. There are many more redfish in Florida waters
today than 20 years ago and not a single square mile of ocean was closed
to fishing to achieve this dramatic recovery.
So as we remember our past victories we know that the fine fishing we enjoy today is no accident. It came as the result of a great deal of hard work. We must also recognize that if we want our children to continue to enjoy such fishing opportunities we must now work just as hard to insure that access to our coastal waters is also protected.
Accuracy
in Reporting
CCA Florida continues to be amazed by the articles which appear in some
of the state’s newspapers that simply repeat information provided
by manatee groups without further research needed to fairly present the
facts to the public. A typical story appeared in the October 18, St.
Petersburg Times. The article, which reported on a press conference
held by the manatee group, contained the statement “Florida has an
estimated 3,276 manatees left according to the state” as if somehow
the population had declined to that level, rather than expanded to that
level. The article also falsely accused Governor Bush of failing to “deliver”
on manatee protection and on a “promise” to add more law enforcement.
Following is CCA Florida’s Letter to the Editor regarding the article
which was printed by the St. Petersburg Times on November 12, 2002.
Dear Editor:
We believe that your October 18 article reporting on the manatee groups’
criticism of Governor Jeb Bush did not fairly present the facts and relied
too much on the misinformation provided by the manatee and animal rights
groups.
The bottom line is that there are more manatees in Florida’s coastal
waters today than there were four years ago. In 2001, statewide aerial
surveys counted an all-time record of 3,276 manatees—more than double
the number counted 10 years ago.
For years the manatee groups have been falsely claiming that manatees
were declining and on the verge of extinction. However, the most comprehensive
biological evaluation of manatees ever done was just released by the Florida
Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The evaluation clearly states
that, “Current information on population trends of the Florida manatee
do not suggest a reduction in population size over the last 45 years (three
generations). Current data, both scientific and anecdotal, indicate that
the Florida manatee population has increased since the 1970s.”
The FWC’s biological report confirms exactly what recreational fishermen
and fishing guides have been telling the state for years.
The manatee groups point to new highs in watercraft mortalities but deliberately
omit the fact that there are also new three-year highs in natural mortalities.
In fact, natural mortalities are increasing at rates equal to watercraft
mortalities. An increase in all forms of mortality is exactly what you
would expect to see with an expanding population.
Brevard and Lee are the two Florida counties with the highest populations
of manatees and the biggest issues regarding watercraft mortality. During
the Bush administration, the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission adopted more state manatee protection
zones, covering more area in those two counties, than all previous administrations
combined.
The groups complain about law enforcement but omit the fact that in the
2001 session, Governor Bush actively supported and obtained the funding
for 25 new fish and wildlife officers. Those officers were the first new
fish and wildlife enforcement positions funded in more than 10 years.
In addition, for the last three years, Governor Bush and the FWC pushed
for and received two million dollars for overtime for law enforcement
officers. More than a third of the overtime funding has gone to manatee
zone enforcement efforts.
It is also fair to note that the events of September 11 reshaped the
priorities of all law enforcement agencies and the FWC is no exception.
As FWC officers were tasked to guard nuclear power plants, ports, and
even the Capitol, fewer resources were available to control illegal gillnetting
and to enforce manatee zones and other fish and wildlife laws.
We appreciate the opportunity to provide these comments. In the future, we urge you to place more effort on putting facts, instead of manatee-group opinions, in your articles.
Sincerely,
Ted Forsgren
Executive Director
Peace
River Plan Overturned by Feds
—FWC Seeks Explanation
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued their final rule for 13
new manatee zones, one of which overturns the FWC’s plan to protect
manatees in the Peace River. The action is the result of the federal lawsuit
filed by the manatee club and other animal rights groups against the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service similar to the lawsuit against the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The manatee club continues
to claim the manatee is in serious trouble in Florida despite an expanding
population.
The state’s plan for the Peace River was finalized in September
after many months of work by commission staff with input from CCA Florida,
local boating and fishing interests, and local governments. As part of
the process to develop fair rules FWC Commission Chairman John Rood toured
the Peace River site, timing boat passage through areas and hearing from
local residents.
After reviewing manatee/boat mortality data and working with our Charlotte
Chapter members, CCA Florida recommended that the FWC modify two speed
zone proposals within the Peace River area from 5-miles-per-hour to 25-miles-per-hour.
Both zones at the time had no speed limits, and in each of these areas
there has been only one manatee killed by a watercraft during the past
30 years.
According to FWC aerial survey data, manatee populations in the Peace
River are certainly not declining, but instead show dramatic increases
in abundance. Average sightings per survey flight increased from 3.7 manatees
in the late 1980s, to 14.5 in the early 1990s, to 22 sightings per flight
in 1998-1999—a 600 percent increase over the previous 10 years.
Nevertheless, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rejected the FWC plan
and issued conflicting and more restrictive regulations. On November 20,
the commissioners voted unanimously to send a letter to the U.S. Department
of the Interior Secretary Gale Norton requesting that she send a high
ranking official to their next commission meeting to explain why the federal
government rejected the state plan.
Maps of new zones can be seen on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website at http://northflorida.fws.gov.
by Jim Gray, General Manager of CCA Florida
As we wind up another year of CCA Florida events, we can look back on
2002 and see that we had a great year. In November 2001 we undertook a
reorganization of our fundraising efforts that resulted in a reduction
in staff, new purchasing policies, new management practices and a rededication
of the staff to the future success of CCA Florida. These efforts have
paid off. You now have a stronger, more viable CCA Florida supported by
an energetic, dedicated staff that I am proud to work with.
As we progressed through the year, it became evident that the volunteer
members of the chapters were also feeling a renewed sense of dedication
to CCA and the importance of marine conservation. Our chapter banquet
committees started early and worked hard to hold successful fundrai-sers—and
they did a wonderful job. They held inventive, successful events in spite
of an economy that was not as strong as it has been in past years. The
entire staff is grateful to our volunteer members for their efforts this
year.
While 2002 is winding up on a positive note, we still have lots of work
to do. During 2001 and early 2002 a few chapter boards declined in members.
One of these chapters, Naples, has been reformed through the efforts of
Regional Director Brian Gorski and local volunteers, and is well along
in their planning for a spring 2003 banquet. We now have a great chapter
board there with a mix of both experienced members and new members. Watch
for your invitation to the Naples banquet on February 27 and plan to have
a great evening.
In early 2003 we will begin work to redevelop our Jacksonville and Volusia
chapters. Members in those areas who can serve on chapter boards are urged
to contact the Orlando office so we can begin to form a strong board.
Chapter board service is not a difficult task—it just takes someone
who believes in the work CCA does to protect our fishing and our marine
resources.
As chapter growth continues into 2003, we will be evaluating the possibility
of creating an additional regional director position. We have several
candidates who have expressed interest, but if you know of anyone who
may have the attributes needed to be a CCA regional director, please send
me their information.
This past year has been a very rewarding experience for me. It is very
satisfying to see the dedication and hard work of our staff and volunteers.
We hope all our members have very happy holidays and that we continue
to make great progress in the years ahead.
CCA Florida Restoration Efforts Continue
The Orlando Chapter of CCA Florida, under a grant funded by The
FishAmerica Foundation (FAF) and NOAA’s Community Based Restoration
Project, held mangrove
plantings in the Indian River Lagoon on July 27, September 28 and
November 16, 2002 in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral.
“That makes 23,000 mangroves—3,000 over our 20,000 goal—the
volunteers have planted this year,” said Mark Carter, CCA Florida
Vice-President.
Other organizations taking part include Boeing Aerospace, and the Backcountry
Flyfishing Associations of Central Florida and Brevard County.
The Orlando Chapter received a grant from FAF and NOAA to continue mangrove
restoration efforts this year in the Indian River Lagoon. The chapter
is currently working on additional foundation funding to continue the
restoration efforts through 2003.
“We’ve also started the first of our program’s two saltmarsh
grass nurseries,” said Doug Blanton, Chapter Conservation Chair.
“Tom Stewart and his students of Rockledge High School are proud
they were the first school to participate and we have our second school,
Titusville High, ready to come on board.” In November the volunteers
planted marsh grass sprigs for the first time that were grown in the new
nurseries.
CCA members, or anyone interested in taking part in the volunteer restoration
efforts should contact Mark Carter at (407) 699-0572, E-mail:
oarlocki@aol.com; or Doug Blanton of Indian River Adventures at (321)
504-1075, E-mail: mangrove@indian-river.cc.
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On the West coast, CCA volunteers continue to take part in ongoing efforts
to reestablish salt marsh communities and recreate oyster bar habitats
in the Tampa Bay ecosystem. Tampa
BayWatch coordinates the placement of the new oyster bars and provides
technical expertise to insure the maximum value from the new habitat.
Volunteers transport cleaned oyster shells to the site. As on the East
Coast, marsh grass sprigs are grown by local high school science clubs
and planted by teams of volunteers.
Partial funding for the Tampa Bay oyster bar and salt marsh creation
projects, is also provided by CCA Florida through grants from the FishAmerica
Foundation and the NOAA Community Based Restoration Project.
[Return to CCA Florida home page] [Return
to list of SeaWatch publications]
Thank You
We are deeply appreciative of Mercury Marine for their continued support of CCA Florida
conservation initiatives. Mercury donates two motors for every CCA Florida banquet.
CCA Florida would also like to recognize:
FLORIDA SPORTSMAN MAGAZINE and the WICKSTROM FAMILY for their generous support for our membership growth program and their work for marine conservation in Florida.
CALUSA CAST NETS and CRACKER CAST NETS for their consistent and longtime support of marine conservation through donated and discounted cast nets provided for every CCA Florida fundraising banquet.
THE ORVIS COMPANY who continues to make a significant annual donation of merchandise to CCA Florida.