Outdoors

'Grounds' caught in middle

Gulf groups, anglers, divers want say as feds consider management of the popular site.

By TERRY TOMALIN, Outdoors Editor
Published February 8, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG

The Florida Middle Grounds, one of the most popular fishing and diving destinations in the Gulf of Mexico, may soon be governed by new regulations, which, among other things, may ban anchoring in this environmentally sensitive area.

"We have not proposed any changes to fishing regulations," said Billy Causey, regional director for the federal government's National Marine Sanctuary Program. "But there are certain activities that have an impact that do need to be addressed."

Located about 80 miles northwest of Tarpon Springs, "The Grounds" as they are often called by recreational anglers and scuba divers, are a series of old coral reefs that run in north to northwest parallel ridges.

With an average depth of approximately 130 feet, the Middle Grounds is a favorite destination for hard-core anglers and spearfishermen.

"This is not a place for beginners," said Bill Hardman, who regularly scuba dives the area. "If something goes wrong, you are 80 miles from land. This is a place that you have to work your way up to."

Commercial longline fishing is currently banned in the 460-square-mile area, although the Middle Grounds were once a favorite stop for fishing boats that made the run from Apalachicola to Tarpon Springs.

"It takes most boats four to six hours to get out there, so it is not a place you visit on a whim," Hardman added. "You go there to fish and dive. And because it takes so long to get there, you usually spend the night."

Islands in the Stream

The Middle Grounds is just one of seven biologically diverse areas that federal officials hope to link together under one management system, similar to the way various protected areas in the Florida Keys were linked together under the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Program.

The other areas in question include the South Texas or "Snapper Banks;" the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Reefs and Banks located 60 to 100 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana; the Pinnacles, which are 62 miles off the Mississippi and Alabama coasts; Madison-Swanson Marine Reserve, 58 miles southeast of Port St. Joe; Steamboat Lumps, 115 miles south-southeast of Port St. Joe and Pulley Ridge, found 150 miles west of Cape Sable.

All of these areas are influenced in a clockwise motion by the Yucatan, Loop and Florida currents that circulate in the Gulf of Mexico. Federal officials say these currents are the oceanic equivalent of wind on land, spreading the seeds of life across long expanses of open water.

"So what happens in one area could affect what is going on in other areas," Causey said. "That is why we want to see all of these areas managed together."

Executive action

Creating a series of specially managed marine areas in the Gulf of Mexico would not be without controversy. In July 2006, President Bush created the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii with one stroke of a pen.

"They shut down a huge area to all fishing," said Ed Walker, a local charterboat captain who tracks marine issues. "And the public had nothing to say about it."

Not everybody is pleased about the "Islands in the Stream" plan, of which few details are known. In November, Thomas McIlwain, chairman of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, questioned the process, citing "lack of public involvement."

McIlwain said he thought the proposal should come before the council, like other management issues. "The draft proposal has not involved any of these groups so far, and the Council would like to see this lack of consultation change if the proposal is to proceed," he wrote in his letter to federal officials.

Mark Hixon, an Oregon State University professor who chairs the federal government's own Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee, also said the public should be involved in the process. "We believe that the specific proposal for the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the development of a national system of marine protected areas in general, will be weakened if these guidelines are not followed," Hixon wrote another letter to federal officials.

A public process

Causey, who had to fight various commercial and recreational fishing advocacy groups in his battle to create the Keys' sanctuary system, said the Islands in the Stream program will not be developed without first holding public hearings.

Fishermen, used to anchoring wherever they find fish, will not like being told they must tie up to designated mooring buoys.

"We had the same problem in the Keys," he said. "Now we have a system of more than 500 mooring buoys. We have another 36 sites in the Dry Tortugas, which is very similar to the Middle Grounds. We never have more than one or two boats tied up at any one time. So I don't think crowding will be a problem."

The Bush administration has not made a final decision on the Islands in the Stream proposal, according to Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the federal agency that oversees the National Marine Sanctuary Program. In a December letter to the gulf council's McIlwain, Gutierrez pledged that any "deliberations" will involve the fishery management council and the "stakeholders," i.e., the anglers and divers.

Causey, meanwhile, said that no decisions will be made until a public hearing can be scheduled somewhere in the Tampa Bay area, though a timetable has not been set. "We want the public's input," he said. "We need to have the stakeholders at the table."

Terry Tomalin can be reached at tomalin@sptimes.com or at (727) 893-8808.

The Florida Middle Grounds

Location: 80 miles northwest of Tarpon Springs, 85 miles south of Apalachicola. This prime fishing area is located in the "middle" of the traditional trade route between these historic centers of commercial fishing.

Description: Measuring approximately 460-square miles, this fishing/diving area features fossilized coral reefs. The water depth ranges from 60 to 360 feet. The average height above the surrounding sea floor is 10 to 15 feet, but in some areas the relief is as great as 40 to 50 feet.

Biological characteristics: 23 species of stony corals, 40 species of sponges, 75 species of mollusks, 56 species of crustaceans and 170 species of fish.

Threats

Extractive uses: The shallower areas of the Middle Grounds are accessible to divers, and as a result, subject to physical damage and too much fishing pressure. The area has been a popular destination for commercial fishermen for more than 100 years, and biologists believe this fishing pressure may have already changed the bottom characteristics.

Pollution: Depending on the currents, the Middle Grounds are influenced by various man-made pollutants from the Mississippi River and rivers draining out of Alabama and Florida.

Source: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Last modified February 7, 2008, 20:33:31]