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Senator protests grouper ban

Mel Martinez says new restrictions unfairly target recreational fishermen.

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez has asked federal regulators to delay new restrictions on recreational fishing for red grouper, arguing that more evidence is needed to justify the rules.

Martinez, R-Orlando, said in a July 29 letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that the rules, set to take effect today, will "have a severe impact on Florida's recreational fishing industry and cost my state's economy."

The restrictions reduce the daily bag limit of red grouper from two to one and establish a no-catch season for the fish in November and December in federal waters, which start 10 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Enacted on an emergency basis, the rules would be in effect for 180 days.

In waters less than 10 miles out, Florida regulators have agreed to the lower bag limit, but not to the November-December moratorium.

The recreational restrictions will not affect commercial fishermen; they can continue to target red grouper unless the commercial quota is reached before Nov. 1. Commercial fishermen bag about 80 percent or more of the total red grouper catch.

The regulations came after NOAA data showed that recreational fisherman exceeded the red grouper quota in 2004 by 138 percent.

Fishermen say they will protest the decision at a meeting of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council this week in Fort Myers Beach.

In his letter, Martinez asked that NOAA take a fresh look at how it collects recreational catch data and that regulators take into account evidence that there was less fishing in 2004 because of the active hurricane season.

[Last modified August 9, 2005, 05:04:51]