Is Florida Fishing Going Woke?

 

December 1, 2022

*Capt Hubbard,

We traded Emails a couple of months ago in reference to my blog post RE: the FWC commissions last minute amendment to the FWC staff’s proposed Redfish rules for NE Florida.  As noted in the post, I was somewhat  aggravated that the Commission chose to make a change to the recommendations – recommendations that Staff had arrived at after a year and half of research, studies, a Summit, and multiple workshops. In a nut shell, my attitude towards the FWC has become a bit jaded.

I realize that somehow time has caught up with me – I’m now one of the “old timers” and my thoughts on fishing, keeping of fish, and overall conservation may not align as much with the younger generation.  That said, I don’t like to kill a whole bunch of fish – I subtly encourage my customers to throw them back, but I don’t begrudge a recreational angler to keep a few for dinner. I do feel like the times of “loading the cooler” to feed the neighborhood are long gone, as well they should be.

Plain and simple, I go by the rules set by the FWC. And again, if there is any hesitation from one of my customers to keep or release a fish, I encourage them to release it. I recently “fired” a customer that pressured me to keep an illegal fish.

 I’ve had a growing un-ease in my belly that our industry is being taken over by the “woke”, tree-hugging crowd. Here at Amelia Island, a number of folks have moved in over the last 10 years and they seem to be die-hard environmentalist/conservationist, or at best, ambivalent towards fishing.  The island is becoming more and more anti-boater and anti-anglers. Our boat ramp at the City Marina is in danger of being closed, our county boat ramps are in need of repair. Heck, the City built frigging Pentanque courts in the boat trailer parking lot!

Like I said, I go by the FWC rules. But I’ve always wondered if their research may be tainted by conservationists bias-all I can do is hope that they are “honorable” scientists and will do the right thing. I was pleased to hear one of the scientists at the Summit note that the “NE Florida Redfish stock was doing good”.  I was all on board with the NE Florida rule changes and prepped my customers with notices 2-Redfish per person, 4 per boat max.  Why would the Commissioners base their decision to change that recommendation on the sentiment of a handful of people that poured their heart out at the Commission meeting? My gut tells me the FWC is gauging public sentiment to base their decisions, rather than what the science tells them.  I think they gauged wrong, but “conservation” is what they are hearing. I feel that there are adverse ramifications to we guides and all Florida anglers.

I’m a bit concerned that the FWC Commissioners may be “in bed” with the conservation groups. Those groups have raised a lot of money and have a lot of influence. Again, all of us think we’re conservation minded but what do we as Guides/Charter boat captains do when that public sentiment that the FWC is basing their rules on goes even further? What if there’s a push to ban boats with gasoline engines? What if they want to enforce speed limits off shore? What if they want to institute complete catch and release? What if they want to close the boat ramps? What if they make the rules so onerous that no one wants to fish?  As you know, they’re already doing some of this in Florida. How far do we let them go before we push back?

Just this week there was an news article about Whole Foods banning Maine caught lobsters. A move that affected the entire state industry. In 20 years will Floridians be cut out of fishing?

FYI I fished three times this week, Mon-Wed.  On Monday we fished one spot and we  were there for 2 hours. We guestimated we caught 40 Redfish, most of them “rats”, but 8 of them were in the Slot. My customers kept their limit (2).   On Tuesday we fished and caught only Trout and a Flounder - zero Redfish-not a one. Yesterday we fished a spot, and again caught over 40 Redfish. Most of them were “rats”, but the 12yo young lady on the boat counted the slots – 12 slots. They kept their limit (4).  When I was listening the video of the Commission meeting and heard some of the folks state that “they couldn’t catch a redfish” and “the Redfish stock is down”  I was thinking, “you know, it depends on the day, the tide, the time of year, the spot, the bait,  the experience of the angler, and the skill level” ‘ Some days you catch them. Some days you don’t. For the Commissioners to base their decisions on those testimonies was just…baloney.

My membership with the Florida Guides Association is based on how I think ya’ll are addressing these concerns. If I think you are getting too “buddy buddy” with the conservation groups and the FWC, then I’ll probably drop the membership. I understand that we need to work with them. I just don’t think our interests are 100% in line with the direction they are heading.

Sincerely,

Capt. Lawrence Piper

FWC Staff Thrown Under The Bus

Needless to say, I was a bit surprised when I saw the final FWC Commission’s decision to change the Redfish rules to one fish per angler in the NE Florida Region. For months FWC staff have been reporting and promoting and disseminating that their recommendation for NE Florida would be to keep the two fish per angler, but change the boat limit down to four, from eight. Also slated to change was to remove Captains from counting in the “take”.

I've had no issue with these proposed changes and, truth be told, I have no issue with even a one fish per angler and dropping the boat limit down to four, and removing the captains as counting.  In past comments I’ve stated just that. What I do have a problem with is that FWC Staff studied this over the last couple of years, began taking input a year ago, kicking off with a day-long Redfish Summit down in Ocala, hosted numerous regional workshops, and then made their recommendations to the Commissioners based on the data and science and that year long input. When the final decision was made at the Commission meeting in Jacksonville in July, after a number of passionate testimonies from anglers at the final meeting, four of the commissioners (the other three were absent), threw all of that year long effort out the window and while they were at it, threw the FWC Staff under the bus.

Has anyone in the last two years not heard the term, “Trust the Science”?  I don’t know how many researchers and scientists and data crunchers that the FWC employ but I have to assume that they all put their heads together studying the data. Then we all went thru what turned out to be a charade of the Redfish Summit, then a multitude of regional presentations and workshops, and on-line request for input from we “Stakeholders”. They had a full year of input from those stakeholders across the region.  And finally, FWC Staff settled on and published the recommendations that they were going to present to the Commissioners. At the July Commission meeting FWC Staff made these recommendations for NE Florida:

• Keep the bag limit of 2 fish per angler
• Reduce the off-the-water transport limit from 6 to 4 fish per person 
• Prohibit Captain and crew from retaining a bag limit of redfish when on a for-hire trip

All good right?

Nope, this is where it got hinky. 

FWC Staff made the above recommendation. Then the Commission took more public input (you can click here and see the entire meeting, but if you go to 1:11:56 you can see where the presentation is made with following public comment that begins around 1:24:45) 

There were 21 speakers on the subject, most advocating to drop that bag limit from 2 to 1 in the NE Region. Some were very passionate in their speeches and evidently convincing enough to sway the commissioners. If you get a chance, listen to the speeches. Even though one advocate made his case and stresses that “these are the facts”, when it comes to the regulations, shouldn’t we be making decisions based on the data and the research? There were a couple of tournament anglers who were having trouble catching Redfish in their tournament. Did they just have a bad day?  One speaker mentioned making the 1-fish rule across the board so it would be easier for law enforcement. Why then the multiple Regions?  Another suggested it was “sick” to kill ANY Redfish. Another mentioned “listen to Stakeholders”.  I guess he meant only the ones at that July meeting – not the hundreds who provided input during the year-long charade. 

Shortly after the Commissioners took public comment, the  Commissioner representing NE Florida, Sonya Rood proposed an amendment to change the FWC recommendation and move the bag limit down to 1 fish person.  I’d give a shaky thumbs up to Chairman Rodney Barreto for at least mentioning that FWC Staff had made recommendations……but…but…ok…..let’s vote on it with  Ms. Rood’s amendment and BAM! FWC Staff recommendation thrown out the window (and it slowly rolled under the bus).

The new rules will go into effect September 1, 2022:

• 1 fish per angler
• 4 fish per boat
• 4 fish while in transient
• Captains don’t count in the “take”

The FWC supposedly plans to take data, do research and study the Redfish population over the coming year and annually make their recommendations. There was some talk about including other species – Seatrout, Flounder and Snook in the new studies.

My questions are these:

• If the FWC Staff wants our input, and we give it, does it really matter?
• Are Commissioners going to “follow the science” and staff recommendations or be swayed by passionate speakers at the final meeting?
•  If FWC Staff publishes their findings and recommendations and present them right up to that final meeting, do you ever trust the Commissioners to follow those recommendations?
• Do you not have to be present at that final meeting for it to actually count? 
• Can you trust them?

REWARD:  To the first person who watches the entire FWC July Meeting video, I’ll pay .25 per time anyone mentions or says the word “Stakeholder(s)”!