Filed at January 12, 2008 under Commercial Fishing and On the Water/Fishing and Florida Keys and Florida Keys/Lower Keys/Key West and Animals/Fish/Lobster by Keys
The Keys celebrate the bounty of the sea — Florida lobster, yellowtail, sweet pink shrimp, grouper, stone crab claws and more — during the third annual Florida Keys Seafood Festival from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Jan. 19. The event, at Key West’s Bayview Park at Truman Avenue and Eisenhower Drive, features music and children’s activities as well as such specialties as conch chowder and conch fritters. All the seafood available for purchase will be prepared by fishermen and their families. Admission is free. Proceeds benefit the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association and scholarships for college-bound children of commercial fishermen. Call 800-527-8539.
Filed at January 8, 2008 under Commercial Fishing and Environment and Animals/Fish/Lobster by Keys
A commercial lobster diver faces an arraignment hearing in local court Friday on a count of possessing artificial-reef materials on the water.
Manuel Ravelo Jr., 35, of Key West was booked into the Monroe County jail Dec. 24 and released after posting $1,000 bond on the misdemeanor count. Ironically, Ravelo was named in 2005 to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Spiny Lobster Advisory Board as a commercial diver. The panel later voted to ask that he be removed because of missed meetings.
An information report on Ravelo’s case was filed Nov. 21 by the office of Monroe County State Attorney Mark Kohl stemming from an incident at sea June 11. According to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report, officers on patrol three miles north of Key West conducted a boat-safety and catch inspection aboard a 29-foot boat carrying Ravelo and another man.
Officers reported finding “many pieces of rebar approximately [3 feet] in length” along with a sledgehammer and tool bag. The iron reinforcing rods and tools were suitable for use in building an illegal underwater habitat to attract lobster, according to the FWC. Ravelo would not offer an alternative purpose for the materials aboard his boat, officers reported. Ravelo could not be reached for comment this week.
Underwater habitats, also known locally as casitas, are used to provide spaces where lobster congregate. During lobster season, divers can go to the site and collect many crustaceans rather than looking for them in their natural habitats. While commercial divers maintain such habitats are beneficial to the marine environment, biologists fear the structures could be detrimental to the lobster’s normal behavior. Hundreds of these structures are believed to have been built illegally around the Keys, according to government officials.
Under current state law, it is illegal to build such an underwater habitat without permits, or to carry on the water “any materials reasonably suited … for use and placement as an artificial reef.”
Florida Keys Lobster
Filed at January 5, 2008 under Commercial Fishing and Animals/Fish/Lobster by Keys
People who depend on lobster for their livelihood need to put their own stamp on new rules coming for the species, say commercial fishermen. “Lobster is a multi-jurisdictional, co-managed species,” said Tony Iarocci, a Marathon fisherman and member of the federal South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. “This is not just the state telling us that changes are coming,” Iarocci said. “We’re dealing with two federal fishery councils and the [Florida Keys] National Marine Sanctuary in addition to the state.”
The Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association will host an open forum at 1 p.m. Monday, January 7, 2008, at the Marathon Government Center to launch a year-long effort to help shape expected regulatory changes.
“Our long-term goal is a renewable and sustainable resource for all user groups, with minimal impact on the marine environment,” Iarocci said. “We want everybody to be happy with the fishery.” Iarocci said he envisions a working group like the Tortugas 2000 panel that crafted regulations to establish the Tortugas Ecological Reserves, two large no-take zones in the sanctuary. “It’s better to try to work with the divers and all the user groups and be proactive instead of reacting,” Iarocci said. “We’ve got a whole lot to deal with in this fishery.”
Bruce Irwin, chairman of the Fishermen’s Association, said, “Our No. 1 goal is to protect the resource and protect the environment for long-term sustainability. We want to speak with one voice on the state and federal issues coming up.” A two-year effort by state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission staff and a panel of lay advisors to overhaul Florida’s lobster laws hit snags at a December FWC meeting when final decisions were expected.
Three modest rule changes were made but the state commission delayed decisions on controversial issues such as lobster-trap reduction and allowing the use of manmade underwater lobster habitats by commercial divers. “We need more of a consensus, especially from the industry, to come forward,” Irwin said. “We can’t just have a brawl at the commission meeting and see who wins.”
The working group also can work to “clear up some real misconceptions about our fishing practices,” Irwin said. “It was obvious some people [at the December FWC meeting] do not understand what we do.” Iarocci said mandates in federal law could lead to wholesale changes in the way commercial fishing works in coming years. “Everything the state does still has to go through the federal process,” he said. “When you see the things that are coming down on us, we realize that we have to do something. We can’t just sit here.”
More Florida Keys Lobster.
Filed at September 8, 2007 under Commercial Fishing and Animals/Fish/Lobster and Florida Keys/Middle Keys by Keys
Two Florida Middle Keys commercial fishermen were arrested Wednesday on charges of harvesting undersized spiny lobster, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. An FWC officer stopped and boarded the men’s commercial crawfish vessel for a routine inspection on the bayside of Long Key Bridge, spokesman Bob Dube said. The officer found 252 wrung and undersized lobster tails and another 97 live undersize lobsters in a live well.
Eduardo Ramos Jr., 34, and Jesus Morales Jr., 24, were both charged with having undersized and over the limit lobster and taken to the Marathon jail, reports said. Ramos’ bond was set at $15,000; Morales’ at $20,000.
The Keys celebrate the bounty of the sea — Florida lobster, yellowtail, sweet pink shrimp, grouper, stone crab claws and more — during the third annual Florida Keys Seafood Festival from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Jan. 19. The event, at Key West’s Bayview Park at Truman Avenue and Eisenhower Drive, features music and children’s activities as well as such specialties as conch chowder and conch fritters. All the seafood available for purchase will be prepared by fishermen and their families. Admission is free. Proceeds benefit the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association and scholarships for college-bound children of commercial fishermen. Call 800-527-8539.