Destin Captains Are Happy to Keep Their Snapper Season

A most unusual sight could be seen Thursday afternoon in Panama City Beach — fishermen giving state regulators a standing ovation.

Such was the scene at the end of a nine-hour meeting of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Board of Commissioners Thursday at the Bay Point Marriott. Regulators discussed whether the state would follow the lead of the federal government and clamp down on red snapper in its waters.

The FWC board heard hours of public testimony from area elected officials — including Destin City Councilors Dewey Destin and Capt. Kelly Windes and Destin Mayor Craig Barker, who read a resolution passed by the Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners and a letter of his own — and gaggles of fishermen. It then voted unanimously to uphold the current red snapper season (April 15 - Oct. 31) in the nine nautical miles under its jurisdiction.

The conference room was packed to the rafters with captains from Panama City, Appalachicola, Mexico Beach, Pensacola and a large contingent, numbering more than 50, from Destin. All had made the trek to Panama City Beach to speak their piece and urge the sevenmember commission not to make a move that they feared could be the beginning of the end for their generations-old fishing industry.

When called upon to speak, Capt. Brad Biggers of Destin summed up what was on the line for all those in the room who made their living from the sea. “On behalf of me, my wife, my kids and my grand kids, keep us in the Gulf. Let us fish, Let us have our season,” Biggers said, drawing a large round of applause.

The state of Florida, many of the captains said, would be foolish to follow the lead of the federal government, who they believed based their management policies on data that was wildly inaccurate. The data suggests that the red snapper fishery is overfished and the only way to replenish it would be through drastic cutbacks in the total allowable catch and a shorter season for both the recreational and commercial sectors. Not so, said many of the fishermen who testified.

“The red snapper fishery is as strong as it’s been in 25 years,” said Capt. Kelly Windes, a remark that drew thunderous applause from the crowd of more than 200. Most believed that the fishery needed accurate data and not the computer modeling the National Marine Fisheries Service relied on in creating management plans. “We want our fish counted,we want logbooks, we want the truth to come out, whatever that is,” said Capt. Mike Eller.

Some members of the commission, it appeared, had similar contempt for the data that many characterized as being “fatally flawed.” “I’ve questioned the federal data from day one,” said commissioner Kathy Barco. “Just because we’ve been doing it one way for 20 years doesn’t mean that we can’t do it a different way and get it right,” said commission chairman Rodney Barreto. “We’ve gotta get this data done right.”

Captains had to make a large concession to keep their season. The commission voted to cut the bag limit from four fish to two and eliminated the bag limit for captain and crew aboard for-hire vessels. The new regulations go into effect on April 1.

“I don’t want to, but I can live with two fish, I can’t live with a shorter season,” said Capt. George Eller. Though filled with passionate and sometimes pointed testimony, the meeting lacked the tension and downright disdain that was palpable when the captains made their case before federal regulators in Point Clear, Ala., last year.

“I’d like to thank you all for taking the time to come here today. I’m proud of the fact that we came to you. It was important for us to hear what you had to say, and I’m proud of the level of professionalism shown by everyone in this room. What it shows me is that we made the right decision by coming here,” Barreto said.

The FWC’s decision Thursday could also affect the red snapper season in federal waters. National Marine Fisheries Service officials have made it known that if Florida didn’t make their regulations consistent with theirs that harsher regulations may be necessary to get the stock to mandated levels by 2010. NMFS is required by the Magnuson Stevens Act to end overfishing of all species by 2010.

Published on Saturday, February 9, 2008