I'm going to quote Grogan here because I'm really not informed enough to make a summary of my own. It clarifies Florida's position on it and what this means for us as recreational spearfishermen within state waters. The bottom line appears to be that for now, those of us spearfishing in Miami and Broward are not affected by this closure because 3.5 miles out is too deep for us to dive anyways. I sympathize with those of us living further south who need to travel more than 3.5 miles to get to good fishing grounds.
QuoteDisplay MoreI just had a long phone call with Lee Schlesinger, spokesman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Lee has been a fount of information in the past and explained it well today. I also called Greg Waugh at the SAFMC and ran this by him too. Here is my understanding of the situation:
1.) South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (SAFMC) had to adopt this "interim rule" in order to comply with the Federal law under the Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act (MSRA). Otherwise, the Secretary of Commerce could step in and take over in essence.
2.) The FWC has gone on record as being OPPOSED to the 4 month closure in the Atlantic Ocean.
3.) The interim rule is effective for this coming January-April 2009 period and effectively stops the grouper fishing in Federal waters beyond three miles off shore. It also stops commercial guys holding federal grouper permits from shifting their fishing effort into state waters because there is a rule already in place for them that if Federal rules are more restrictive than state rules, they MUST apply Fereral rules in state waters. This commercial operator restriction applies to anyone with any Federal permit such as "for hire" vessels like dive charter boats, head boats, or commercial boats.
4.) Therefore, the only people who can fish for grouper in state Atlantic waters between January and April of 2009 are RECREATIONAL fisher men and women.
5.) Commercial fishermen who do NOT have any Federal permits may also be allowed to take grouper (up to recreational limits only and NOT for sale), but they need to check that out further. Here is the link to their specific rules: https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/View...asp?id=5358103
6.) The FWC will likely consider whether to implement consistent state waters regulations once the federal grouper regs are in place next year.
7.) Whether this does cause more "fishing pressure" on the various state waters along the Atlantic coast remains to be seen. It may not do so as some may think. I am working on developing a private sector recreational fishing reporting system for this coming January-April season so we can present intelligent and reliable data to FWC for their upcoming deliberations about grouper regulations next year after April 2009.