Outdoors

To help or harm fishing industry?

A controversial plan to regulate longlining has those on both sides clamoring to be heard.

By TERRY TOMALIN
Published September 22, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - William Tucker catches grouper the old fashioned way - on a single hook, with a hand-held rod, from the deck of a small boat.

But the 43-year-old commercial fisherman from Dunedin believes his way of life may be lost if a controversial plan to buy out part of Florida's commercial grouper fleet gains federal approval.

"If people think this will reduce grouper landings they are sadly mistaken," he said. "This plan was the brainchild of the longline industry. They wrote and they will benefit from it."

At the heart of the controversy is Florida's commercial longline fleet, an industry that relies on boats that lay miles of fishing line rigged with thousands of hooks on the bottom of the Gulf.

Longlining opponents - which include environmentalists, recreational anglers and some commercial fishermen - believe that longlines kill indiscriminately, without regard for size, sex or species. Opponents contend that a "vertical" hook and line fishery, which can target a desired species and release those that are not of legal size, would make long-term sense for both the local economy and the environment.

"This is an issue that I am personally very interested in," said David Meehan of St. Petersburg, vice chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "I hear from a lot of recreational anglers and one thing they all want to talk about is longline."

Meehan and his fellow commissioners will get their first look at a proposed buyout today when the FWC meets in St. Pete Beach. While Florida officials have no official role in the process, federal fishery managers often consider their opinions when making regulatory decisions.

The federal government has earmarked $35-million to "buy back" some federal reef fish permits, which in theory would reduce the fishing pressure on grouper, the Gulf's most popular recreational and commercial species.

The buyout is championed by a Madeira Beach-based commercial fishing group, the Southern Offshore Fisherman's Association, and its president, Bob Spaeth, who opponents say failed to consider the effect the move would have on small operators who catch grouper with rod and reel.

"They have allowed the longliners to write a longline buyout plan that is not really a longline buyout plan," said Harold West, a 47-year-old hook-and-line fisherman from Dunedin.

The plan, which would reduce the number of commercial fisherman by buying back fishing permits, in theory would reduce the number of grouper caught by reducing the number of fishing boats.

But West, who has a marine biology degree from Auburn University, said the buyout would not reduce the the number of grouper caught, just re-define who does the catching.

Dean Pruitt, a third generation commercial fisherman from Clearwater, said that is necessary if the commercial fishing industry is to survive.

"There are too many fishermen and not enough fish," said Pruitt, who owns three longline boats. "The government tells us we can't catch any more fish so that means some of the boats are going to have to be eliminated."

Mark Nahon, who has run both a fish house and a longline boat, said the proposed buyout will make it possible for a smaller, sustainable longline fishery to survive.

"I believe it will bring a better group of professionals to the industry," he said. "Instead of having a guy who doesn't care making $10,000 a year on the back deck of a boat, you will have a guy making $50,000. The guy making $50,000 will have more of a stake in the industry and make sure those undersized fish he throws back survive."

But the buyout plan may still be a hard sell. It has been rushed through with little or no public scrutiny.

"The way we understood it, they were going to buy out all of the (fishermen) and that would eliminate the longline fishery," said Meehan of the FWC. "If that is not the case, I'd like our staff to dig a little deeper into this thing and come back with some answers."

Meehan isn't the only public official skeptical of the industry-sponsored plan.

In his resignation letter dated Feb. 9 former Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council member James B. Fensom warned Gov. Jeb Bush to be wary of the buyout plan. Fensom, who was appointed to the council as a recreational fishing representative, told Bush that the "single most important regulation that should be implemented in the Gulf of Mexico is to completely eliminate bottom longlines."

The proposed, partial longline buyout would not help rebuild grouper stocks, Fensom said.

"Buying out latent permits and buying out the least successful grouper fishermen will not benefit the grouper fishery," Fensom wrote to Bush. "Those who support the partial buyout of bottom longline fishermen have been hoodwinked."

[Last modified September 22, 2005, 01:04:14]