New marine Life Regulations coming to Florida!

[liverock]

Follow this link for a behind the scenes look at how marine life laws in Florida are created/changed.

The state picked a group of us "old guys" a few years ago to form a Workgroup for changes in our marine Life laws. Seated at the Table is Pete Keyho, Forest Young, Marty Tanner, an Sanctuary official, me, Jeff Turner, and a few more members not in the photo. If you will notice the gray hair, we are all long time members of the industry, most going back almost 30 years.

There is good info about the recreational changes in the law, so do some reading, as going to the beach now and collecting will change, specifically, invert collection, bag limits, and total bag allowances for two days collecting, for recreational collectors.

Final approval of these changes will occur in December in Key West at the FWC Commissions meeting.

http://myfwc.com/commission/2008/Dec08/Docs/2008_Dec_DRMarineLifePresentation.pdf

Richard TBS:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:


and if you would like to attend the meeting...

http://myfwc.com/commission/2008/Dec08/index.htm

 

[noahm]

Good to know there are those paying attention to these matters.

Thanks,
Noah

 

[noahm]

Just out of curiosity, what is the basis for the difference in substrate regulations regarding sponge collecting in the different locations?

 

[liverock]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13780396#post13780396 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by noahm
Just out of curiosity, what is the basis for the difference in substrate regulations regarding sponge collecting in the different locations?

Excellent question!

And cause of much debate from State officials, Sanctuary officials, and industry members.

The substrate issue stems from the collection of ricordia in the Fla. Keys, National Marine Sanctuary.

Sanctuary rules prevent and substrate removal from the Park. However, collectors have been using chisels to scape the ricordia from the reefs, thus removing some substrate. The practice has been going on for years, with little interdiction from law enforcement in the Keys.

After three years of meetings, a plan was devised to allow a flexible paint scraper to be used as a tool to remove the ricordia from the reef, with a small bit of substrate, approved by the National Marine Sanctuary, a very big gift horse for ricordia collectors.

However, collection of sponges and gorgonians off of Tampa has always been traditionally done with a small chisel to remove the animal from the rock without injury. There is no Marine Sanctuary or coal reefs here on the west coast, all of our hard bottom is rock.

So a one inch hold fast was approved years ago, and been in effect ever since. Opposition to this rule came from collectors in the Keys who felt it should be a statewide law, allowing no substrate at all on anything.

However there is already a law on the books about sponges which states you can remove them by diving NORTH of Egmont key, however south of this line from Egmont key out into the Gulf, sponges must be "hooked" from the surface with a sponge rake. This includes all of the Keys and the Sanctuary.

So the state is in a posture to adopt the existing rule for our ornamental sponge industry also, here off of Tampa.

Clear as mud eh?

Still much gray area as commercial sponges, and ornamental sponges are two different industry's, but at least we are on the way to some enforceable laws.

Richard TBS
:rollface: :rollface: :rollface: