December 1998 -- Seawatch -- Newsletter of CCA Florida

December 1998Issue #75

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Snook by Susan H. Young

It’s a familiar number to CCA Florida members who participated in the Save Our Sealife campaign. Once again, 72 percent of Florida’s voters have said YES to the protection of our marine resources. The creation of a unified Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with constitutional authority over all of Florida’s fish and wildlife resources represents a continuing, and strong mandate for conservation by the state’s citizens.

Nevertheless, the newly-established Commission will only be as effective as the implementation legislation that will be considered by the 1999 Florida Legislature. Since the current Marine Fisheries Commission and Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission will dissolve on July 1, 1999, it’s imperative that laws defining the new commission pass during the upcoming legislative session.

CCA Florida, with the support of its membership and local chapters, has pledged to be there every step of the way from initial committee meetings to the final floor vote, working for nothing less than the full transfer of all marine resource divisions including the Marine Patrol and marine research branches to the new commission.

The key to the entire effort, however, lies in how the Legislature attempts to disperse saltwater license revenues. It’s CCA Florida’s "non-negotiable position" that every single dollar of saltwater recreation license monies must be directed to the new commission and nowhere else. It’s also imperative that the spending safeguards which dedicate percentages of those revenues for specific purposes such as research and enforcement be retained.

Legislative committee meetings began in November and will continue into the March and April legislative session. CCA Florida members are encouraged to contact their local legislators and request their support for a strong, fully funded, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The First District Court of Appeals in Tallahassee has overturned two lower court net-ban rulings that have been preventing prosecution of outlaw netters.

In one case, the appeals court overturned a ruling by Wakulla County Judge Jill Walker in which she dismissed charges against a shrimp netter caught trawling inside the three-mile limit with a net larger than 500-square-feet.

Judge Walker had ruled that the constitutional language defining the three-mile boundary in the Gulf of Mexico was unconstitutionally vague and also that the Marine Fisheries Commission had exceeded its authority by defining miles in the constitution as nautical miles when writing regulations to implement the restrictions. The appeals court reversed the ruling in both arguments and remanded the cases back for retrial.

In Franklin County, Judge Van Russell had also accepted the argument that the constitutional netting restrictions were vague in dismissing charges against netters using a typical scam net. The netters had been caught gilling mullet in a net they claimed was a legal seine net because they had sewn a piece of legal, nylon webbing measuring 56 inches wide into a gill net. The case was combined with charges against four other netters who were using gill nets that had thin strips of nylon netting sewn onto each end.

The appeals court, in reversing Judge Russell's ruling, wrote that "...the State may properly seek to characterize the nets used by the fishermen in these types of cases by the manner of use." As an example, the appeals court cited a situation where "Common household objects...may be classified as burglary tools if they are used with the intent to commit a burglary...this Court has upheld convictions for possession of bolt cutters and screwdrivers as burglary tools."

Despite the definitive ruling, the attempt to circumvent the netting restrictions isn't quite over. When the first cases were again brought up for review in the Wakulla County court, the netters were granted a continuance while their attorney attempts to appeal the case to the Florida Supreme Court.

Special acknowledgments are due to Attorney General Bob Butterworth and especially to Assistant Attorney General John Glogau for his work in defending the state constitution despite strong, and often times personal opposition by members of the commercial fishing industry.

In an unusual twist of world economics, the price of roe mullet has fallen as sharply as the Nikkei stock exchange.

Apparently, the Asian economic crisis is having an affect on Florida's roe mullet season. Purchased as an expensive delicacy, often as a gift for holidays and special occasions, the demand for mullet roe has fallen far below that of previous years.

On the Panhandle coast, it's been estimated prices have failed to exceed $.60 per pound, and according to an October 23 article in the Tampa Tribune, the price being paid for roe mullet in that part of the state was as little as $.30 per pound, far below the $1.50 paid in previous years.

In addition, fish houses aren't purchasing mullet in anything like the quantities of previous years. In one case, in Gulf County, the Marine Patrol was unable to sell 900 pounds of confiscated mullet.

The lowered prices, along with the stronger netting laws CCA Florida was able to get passed in the 1998 legislative session, should have a positive effect on rampant poaching that's been taking place every fall since passage of the net ban.

Remember, illegal netting activity should be reported to the Florida Marine Patrol at 1-800-342-5367.

In October, the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) held their final public hearing on proposed snook regulations in Orlando. CCA Florida's recommendation to the commission included strong support for increasing the minimum size from 24 to 26 inches, and for establishing an upper size limit of 34 inches. By a slight majority, and after the poling of officers and chapter representatives, the CCA Florida Executive Committee also favored keeping the two-fish bag limit.

Following a number of hours of public testimony and discussion in which numerous options were considered including different bag limits for each coast, the MFC passed the new rules by a 4 to 3 vote. The new snook regulations:

The rule was approved by the Governor and Cabinet on November 24, 1998 and will become effective January 1, 1999.

The Florida Marine Fisheries Commission and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council are working on new restrictions for gag grouper to be considered before the end of this year. Gag grouper (also known locally in places as black grouper) are an extremely important species for nearshore and offshore recreational anglers in the west central and Big Bend areas of Florida.

The last time regulations on gag grouper harvest in the Gulf were strengthened was in 1990, when the minimum harvest size was raised to 20 inches. The result was a 56 percent reduction in the recreational harvest of the species and a slight increase in the commercial harvest.

Based on these figures CCA Florida will likely support regulation changes that will reduce the commercial harvest of gag grouper. Possible regulatory changes which might be considered are an increase in size limits, a season closure, a reduction in the recreational bag limit, and commercial trip limits. Members with personal information regarding the harvest of gag grouper should write or fax your suggestions to CCA Florida, 905 East Park Ave., Tallahassee, FL 32301.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will make a decision on which measures to implement at the January 11-14, 1999 Council meeting to be held in Biloxi, Mississippi.