Grouper Ban Has Florida Keys’ Fishermen Reeling
Florida Keys fisherman who barely survived the awful 2009 season won’t be getting any relief for the first few months of the new year.
On January 1st , a new four-month ban on grouper fishing goes into effect to protect the species during its primary spawning season. Fishery managers and ocean conservancy groups say several types of grouper have been overfished for decades and need protection.
The ban, which will run through April 30 prohibits commercial and recreational fishermen from keeping shallow-water grouper; including gag, black, red and yellowfin that is caught in federal and state Atlantic waters from North Carolina to Key West. The ban also extends into state waters on the Gulf of Mexico side of Monroe County.
“It’s a bitter choice between sustaining the fishery or sustaining someone’s livelihood,” said Andy McDonald, the wholesale manager at the Islamorada Fish Co. “But if you don’t sustain the fishery, there will be no livelihood.”
Commercial and charter boat captains are crying foul over the ban which comes during the island chain’s peak tourist season.
“This couldn’t come at a worse time,” said Andy Griffiths, who owns a three-boat charter operation near Key West. “My business already is off 80 percent because of the economy.”
Charter boat captain Bill Kelly agrees. He said he’s been in business 30 years and 2009 was his worst season.
The ban couldn’t come at a worse time for Keys’ commercial fishermen who are struggling to survive after prices and demand for their two big ticket items, spiny lobster and stone crabs, took sharp downturns in the last couple of years. Many commercial boats had been supplementing their dwindling incomes by catching grouper to stay afloat.
But fishermen won’t be the only ones affected. The price of grouper, already $17.99 per pound at several grocery chain stores in the Keys, could go higher when the supply goes down.
Tags: Grouper