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FWC urges federal agency not to grant
long-line permit
May 3, 2007
Contact: Lee Schlesinger (850) 487-0554
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) is urging the National Marine Fisheries Service
not to grant 13 commercial long-line fishermen a permit to fish
in closed Atlantic waters off Florida.
In an April 20 letter to the service, the FWC
said the exempted fishing permit would run counter to
significant improvements to populations of swordfish and other
migratory species, including tunas, dolphin fish, sharks and
wahoo in the South Atlantic.
"We cannot support a proposal that may
significantly increase fishing impacts, possibly reversing the
tremendous gains we have seen in our recreational swordfish and
other billfish populations,” the letter, signed by FWC Chairman
Rodney Barreto, said. "These fisheries are of major economic
importance to Florida.”
The stated purpose for the permit is to let 13
commercial long-line vessels test modifications to their fishing
gear to see if they reduce unwanted bycatch of juvenile
swordfish, other migratory species, and protected sea turtles.
Long-line gear is a fishing technique that uses
large numbers of baited hooks hanging from a single line, and it
has been banned in the Atlantic from southern Florida to South
Carolina since 2001. The FWC opposed a similar request to test
long-line gear here in 2005 and instead has suggested testing
gear that will not result in a large-scale reopening of this
fishery.
"While we support other ways to evaluate the
commercial fishery and reduce bycatch, we must carefully
regulate the commercial harvest so swordfish and other migratory
species continue to flourish,” the letter said. "Because of
these concerns we ask that this permit be denied.”
The FWC expects the service to decide by summer
whether to grant the permit. |
