Southern Offshore Fishing
            Association

Gulf of Mexico Commercial Fishermen Saving Sea Turtles but Their Own Survival Threatened

Groundbreaking collaboration between fishing industry and environmental groups undermined by five-month closure.

Madeira Beach, FL - Commercial grouper longline fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico are working with scientists, managers, environmentalists and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in an effort to minimize the number of sea turtles that are incidentally caught on fishermen's hooks.

Aboard about a hundred boats, most based in Florida, longline fishermen harvest a majority of the fresh grouper for U.S. seafood restaurants and consumers by setting lines of a thousand baited hooks across the seabed. Unfortunately, during this fishing some loggerhead turtles are accidentally caught on the hooks or tangled in the lines. The number taken is small: less than 350 per year, or about 0.1% of the western Atlantic loggerhead turtles taken by all fisheries combined, and most are released alive. These small numbers do not jeopardize the turtle population but the fishermen are nevertheless committed to reducing their interactions with turtles even further.

The loggerhead turtle population has several tens of thousands of adult breeding females, most of which nest on Florida beaches, plus many more males and juveniles. The population is threatened, however, and the number of nests dropped by half between 1998 and 2004. "Our fishing has only been a very minor part of the problems", said Bobby Spaeth, Executive Director of the Southern Offshore Fishing Association "but we will do our share to help save these precious animals. We hope that others will do theirs."

Florida commercial fishermen are working with federal scientists to find ways to minimize the number of turtles incidentally taken and the industry has also initiated its own studies, using commercial fishing boats and crew to gather scientific data. Additionally, and not waiting on research, the industry is sponsoring a training program for captains and crewmen to learn approved techniques for the handling and release of live turtles. New voluntary practices will see fishermen moving away whenever they encounter a turtle on their lines and putting out a radio warning to other fishermen to stay out of the area. Many fishermen have also given up the use of squid for bait, since turtles seem strongly attracted to it.

Meanwhile, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (which advises the NMFS) is developing new regulations to help reduce turtle interactions in the fishery. In New Orleans earlier this month, representatives of Florida's commercial longline fishery forged an historic agreement with the environmental organizations Ocean Conservancy and Oceana that would see the number of boats in the fishery cut in half, the use of squid bait banned, and some of the best of the fishing grounds closed for the summer months when turtles are more vulnerable - painful restrictions indeed but a compromise that will allow many Florida fishermen, their families and the shore side businesses that they support to remain viable. The agreement was accepted by the Council as its preferred option for further development, though final decisions must await an opportunity for the public to comment and will not be implemented until 2010.

"This agreement signifies a willingness for different interest groups to come together to find solutions that consider the best interests of both the turtles and the fishing fleet," explained Vicki Cornish, Ocean Conservancy's vice president of marine wildlife conservation. "The agreement not only helps to forge a way forward on what has been a very contentious issue, but also lays a solid foundation for our groups to work together in the future for better fisheries, safer and better gear to protect turtles, and a healthier Gulf of Mexico."

Unfortunately, this ground-breaking progress was today undermined by the NMFS, which announced an "emergency" closure of the fishery for more than five months. "We cannot sustain this blow," said Spaeth. "This fishery is made up of many small Florida businesses. Most could barely survive being shut down for two months, never mind five."

A fishery closure of such magnitude would not just wreak economic havoc with longline fishermen. The coastal infrastructure that supports the Florida commercial fisheries -fish houses, bait, ice and fuel suppliers, gear and tackle dealers- all rely heavily on the longline fishery, as do the seafood restaurants. "We are worried that the entire industry will be weakened, with loss of markets and a permanent loss of the working waterfront when fishery businesses fail and condo developers take over," said Spaeth. "It's not just us. This will harm Florida's coastal tourism."

Florida fishermen are dismayed that NMFS leadership cast aside its commitment to cooperative solutions, walked away from months of meetings, and instead moved to eliminate jobs and productive, sustainable fishing in the midst of our nation's other economic problems. There is no need for this closure, when short-term regulations matching the compromise hammered out by the commercial fishermen and the environmental groups could have protected both turtles and allowed the fishery to survive until long-term solutions were implemented. The few dozen turtles that this closure might save cannot justify the loss of the entire grouper longline fishery. A balanced approach offered viable alternatives that would have saved both turtles and fishermen.
 

The Southern Offshore Fishing Association and The Gulf Fishemen's Association released the preceding joint statement on April 29, 2009:

Media Contacts: 

Bob Spaeth, Southern Offshore Fishing Association, 727-643-9558, RSpaeth8@aol.com
Glenn Brooks, Gulf Fishermen's Association, 941-920-7302, brooks3glen@yahoo.com