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SAFMC has stated that through the intercept and phone surveys that MRFSS has indicated that there was and increase of 1.8 million recreational trips, and an increase of 4,300 for hire trips on the East Coast of Florida from 2006 to 2007. In part, this has lead the SAFMC to determine the Snapper and Grouper fisheries are experiencing over-fishing, and draft proposals to close or limit this fishery. This was on the heels of 4 hurricanes that hit the state in 2004, gas prices that have risen over 150%, and a major downturn in the economy. If these numbers where accurate, I may consider supporting actions to limit pressure on these fisheries, but I have not seen any other piece of information, other than MRFSS, that indicates anything other than a 20-50% drop in fishing pressure on these species, and a general shift of fishing pressure to species and areas closer to shore.
Table 2. Annual Number of For-Hire Trips by State, 2000-07.
State Year Number Trips
East Florida 2004 198,004
East Florida 2005 200,910
East Florida 2006 173,465
East Florida 2007 177,725
Table 3. Annual Number of Private and Rental Trips, 2000-07.
State Year Number Trips
East Florida 2004 5,313,366
East Florida 2005 6,230,328
East Florida 2006 6,502,930
East Florida 2007 8,317,491
Source - South Atlantic Region Commercial and Recreational Trips 2000-08
Prepared by Kate Quigley, Council Staff
I have made comments and statements on several occasions to council and staff members regarding the accuracy of these numbers, and have asked if there was a single piece of anecdotal data that would confirm such a historically, large increase in fishing pressure. The only answer I have received is that the SAFMC acknowledges the data is anemic, and the MRFSS system is flawed, but that is all you have, and you plan on using this.
I have read about, or have received first hand information from marinas, fuel docks, towing services, boating supply stores, bait and tackle stores, boat dealers, fishing clubs, FWC, Coast Guard, tournament sponsors, charter captains/associations, repair facilities, boat manufactures, tackle manufactures, authors and editors of angling publications, and 100’s of fisherman over the last 6 months, and they all indicate a decrease in firsthand fishing activity, and similar decreases in related industries. The estimate by MRFSS, and all the anecdotal data points to a 40-70% swing in estimated fishing pressure. Something is tragically wrong, and intellectual integrity would at least try to find out why there is an enormous difference in estimated and anecdotal fishing pressure. The latest version of the MS Act requires you to act upon overfished/overfishing conditions on these stocks. Public trust, and the intent of MS ask that you are very sure of your information before taking historic and unprecedented actions using all available information.
As a SAFMC council or staff member, you have a responsibility to make wise and informed decisions as stewards of our national fisheries. I only ask you to look beyond MRFSS best available, but admittedly flawed science, and check first hand with some of the sources closest and most connected to this fishery to confirm you are making the best possible decisions. The Blue Ribbon panel in it’s last review of MRFSS stated, “The designs, sampling strategies, and collection methods of recreational fishing surveys do not provide adequate data for management and policy decisions”. This should be reason enough to check other sources of information.
I would like to offer the following independent news articles addressing the price of gas and fishing pressure. I also would suggest you look at the last article, as it attempts to quantify human behavior trends related to recreational activities in national parks, and oil prices, along with other factors related to recreational/leisure activity trends.
From NBC Nightly News – 7/18/2008
HIGH PRICES FUEL CHARTER FISHING SLOWDOWN
http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/18/1207793.aspx
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/25719958#25719958
Captains said they've suffered a 15 to 40 percent drop off in charter bookings this year. The wealthier clients are still calling, but increasingly the average person in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale hoping for a fun day on the water with his buddies can no longer afford it. "We're just not getting the big families like we would normally," said Bassett.
Greg Eklund, the captain of the "Cloud Nine," bemoaned a two-fold problem."We're losing our profit margin and we're losing the number of customers that we have."
From The Harris Poll – 5/26/2004
WHAT EXPENDITURES HAVE BEEN REDUCED TO PAY MORE FOR GASOLINE
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=466
Base: Adults Who Cut Back on Products or Services to Pay for Gas
Total
%
Dining out 65
Driving in general (local trips, errands, joined a carpool, etc.) 56
Shopping for fun 53
Weekend trips 49
Recreation 43
From Naples Daily News – 1/1/2006
High gas prices have fishermen pooling their boats
http://m.naplesnews.com/news/2006/Jan/01/ndn_high_gas_prices_have_fishermen_pooling_their_b/
"The gas price increases have impacted everyone in our club," Gerstung said. "The reality of it is that if it costs an extra $100 a day, it's not a deal-killer, but maybe you don't take three trips a month but only two."
From Journal of Environmental Management 80 (2006) 387–393
16-year downtrend in national park visits explained by watching movies,playing video games, internet use, and oil prices
http://www.videophilia.org/uploads/JEM.pdf
After many decades of iconic status in American family recreation, National Parks visits may be one casualty of a social change in values characterized by our increasing pursuit of electronic media entertainment. Increased use of video games, home movies, theatre attendance and internet combined with inflation adjusted oil prices explains the majority of the 16-year decline in per capita US national park visits
© Copyright 2003 by Deep-Blue-Sea.org
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