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Grouper crews fear new rules
By ALICIA CALDWELL, Times Staff Writer
If the government makes them take their long-line rigs deeper into the Gulf of Mexico, for all practical purposes, they say, they will no longer catch red grouper -- a fish popularly wedged between sesame seed buns at Florida restaurants. "They're putting us where there's nothing to catch," said Scott Geidel, who runs a 65-foot boat out of Madeira Beach. "They're just totally trying to put us out of business." But scientists and conservationists say the fishermen will lose their livelihood anyway unless something is done to allow this badly depleted stock to regenerate. On Wednesday, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council held a public hearing in Sarasota on whether to ban long-line fishing in the gulf waters less than 50 fathoms, or 300 feet deep. Since red grouper are scarce in water that deep, the move would decimate the red grouper fishing business in Madeira Beach, which brings in most of the state's catch and employs 350 people. Though the council is not scheduled to vote on the measure until today, the commercial fishermen think its approval is a foregone conclusion. "There's no way they're going to change their minds," said Karen Bell, who serves on the 17-member council and also runs a family-owned fish house in Cortez. "They're just hell-bent on getting rid of long lines." The fight over who gets access to Florida's fisheries is an old one, pitting recreational fishermen against commercial. But the familiarity of the conflict did little to diminish the anger, which occupied the hearing room like a living thing. The recreational fishermen, well-spoken men who look like they were outfitted at L.L. Bean, talked about seeing commercial fishermen taking juvenile fish and indiscriminately killing other fish. The commercial folks, in T-shirts and ball caps with faces creased from the sun, talked about persecution and how their efforts supply seafood to people who don't fish for themselves. "They want us to take the brunt of everything," said Scott Daggett, who operates The Right Stuff, based in Madeira Beach. "I'm not asking for a handout. I just want to make a living." Commercial boats bring in 85 percent of the red grouper landed in Florida. And while destruction of the commercial grouper industry is not the aim, any regulatory efforts logically would affect the commercial boats the most, say recreational fishermen. "I'm going to bleed some, they're going to bleed some," said Mike Eller, who spoke on behalf of the Destin Charter Boat Association. "Do we want them to survive? Yes, we want them to survive." His comments were greeted with loud grumbling and hoots from the corner of the room occupied by the commercial fishing people, several of whom carried hand-lettered signs protesting the pending rules. As it stands, long-line fishing is banned in water that is less than 20 fathoms, or 120 feet deep. Long-line fishing is considered an efficient way of catching lots of fish. Fishermen lay between 2 and 6 miles of thick fishing line, interspersed with baited hooks, on the gulf bottom. Later, they reel the line up and pluck off the fish. If the council passes a 50-fathom rule, it would go to the National Marine Fisheries Service for review, which typically lasts a year, said Bell, who is on the council. The goal is to decrease the take of red grouper by 45 percent. Several recreational fishermen told the committee that commercial fishermen using long lines could rerig their boats for so-called bandit fishing -- a vertical line with many hooks off a single pole. "You're not telling these people they cannot fish," said Bob Zales, a Panama City charter boat captain. "You're just telling them they have to change the way they fish." The Madeira Beach grouper fishermen say bandit fishing would result in many fewer fish caught and would be less profitable. It will, they say, cause the price of grouper to rise and will encourage restaurants and retailers to buy more imported fish from countries that may not have health and cleanliness standards equal to those in this country. And it will destroy a way of life. "I've been fishing since I was 16," said Daggett, of Madeira Beach. "This is what I do. But with this rule, it's over. The writing's on the wall."
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