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Cabinet
Affairs |
Item A Emergency Suspension of Area 46ER96-1
Closure for Shrimp Harvest in Apalachicola Bay
Consideration of Emergency Rule 46ER96-1, relating to suspension
of area closures for shrimp harvest in Apalachicola Bay.
REASON FOR EMERGENCY RULE: Chapter 65-905, Laws of Florida, is
a special act of the Legislature that was converted into a rule
of the Department of Environmental Protection (formerly the Department
of Natural Resources) upon creation of the Marine Fisheries Commission.
The law is subject to the jurisdiction of theCommission for repeal
or amendment pursuant to the Commission'senabling law, Chapter
83-134, Laws of Florida, as amended by Chapter 84-121, Laws of
Florida. Chapter 65-905 is known as the tri-county law because
it applies to Gulf, Franklin, and Wakulla Counties. Subsection
(2) of section 4 of the law effectively closes all waters of Apalachicola
Bay in Franklin County north of the John Gorrie Bridge and a rectangular
area south of the bridge to all harvest of shrimp, finding these
areas to be "a breeding ground for shrimp." This provision
has remained on the books for all the years since the law'ss adoption,
but at some point enforcement of the closure of the rectangular
area south of John Gorrie Bridge was discontinued. The origins
of this discontinuation are now lost to time, but the Florida
Marine Patrol announced on January 23, 1996, that it has no choice
but to fully enforce this seemingly valid provision. Shrimp harvesters
in the Apalachicola area have consistently fished the southern
portion of the closure for at least the past 16 years. The area
accounts for a substantial portion of the annual harvest of food
shrimp in the Bay. Enforcement of the entire closed area will
impose a severe economic burden on these food shrimp producers
while not significantly contributing to the continuing health
and abundance of the shrimp resources of the Bay. Food shrimp
producers are still adjusting to the effects of the downsizing
of shrimp trawls mandated by Article X, Section 16 of the State
Constitution, which became effective July 1, 1995. The Marine
Fisheries Commission is presently reviewing the special acts relating
to shrimping applicable in this area and is considering a reconfiguration
of the shrimping area closures in Apalachicola Bay, and St. Vincent
and St. George Sounds to allow for the removal of minimum size
requirements on shrimp. A permanent solution to the circumstances
giving rise to this emergency rule will be a part of that consideration.
The Florida Marine Fisheries Commission has found that there is
an immediate danger to the public welfare if immediate action
is not taken to suspend the current area closure in Apalachicola
Bay imposed by subsection (2) of Section 4 of Chapter 65-905,
Laws of Florida, to the extent that it includes any area of the
bay south of the John Gorrie Bridge. The Commission has also found
that the most appropriate and least restrictive means to alleviate
the hardship caused by these circumstances is to allow the harvest
of shrimp in the area of Apalachicola Bay south of the bridge
while instituting the closure north of the bridge. A permanent
solution to the problems giving rise to this emergency rule will
be undertaken by the Marine Fisheries Commission during the pendency
of this emergency by regular rulemaking.
SUMMARY: Subsection (1) of Emergency Rule 46ER96-1 suspends provisions
of Chapter 65-905, Laws of Florida, which close specified waters
of Apalachicola Bay on either side of the John Gorrie Memorial
Bridge to shrimp harvest. Subsection (2) of the emergency rule
reinstates the closure on the north side of the bridge, for the
pendency of the rule.
Board of Trustees Agenda
Marine Fisheries Commission
March 12, 1996
Page Two
On January 25, 1996, the Marine Fisheries Commission received
notice that the Florida Marine Patrol would begin enforcing the
closure of specified waters south of the John Gorrie Bridge in
Apalachicola Bay to shrimp harvest. The matter was taken up by
the Commission at its regularly scheduled meeting on February
6, 1996, in Clearwater Beach, Florida. The Commission at that
meeting agreed to submit this emergency rule for approval to the
Board of Trustees at its March 12, 1996 meeting.
(See Attachment A, Pages 1-6)
RECOMMEND: APPROVAL
Item B Southwest Florida Shells-Rule 46-26.003
Manatee County
Consideration of proposed amendment to Rule 46-26.003, F.A.C.,
relating to the harvest of live shellfish from the waters of Manatee
County.
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: Chapter 46-26, F.A.C., was originally established
in 1987 to preserve and protect the limited resources of live
shellfish and shell beds on Sanibel Island. In 1993, the Marine
Fisheries Commission broadened provisions limiting daily harvest
to two live shells of a single species to cover all of Lee County.
On January 1, 1995, another amendment to this chapter went into
effect, prohibiting collection of any shell containing a live
organism from Sanibel Island. The success of these regulations
and popularity within Lee County has led other counties in Southwest
Florida to consider requesting similar regulation of live shellfish
harvest. Largely due to the passage of resolutions by the governing
bodies of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, Longboat
Key, Bradenton, and Palmetto urging a ban on the taking of live
shellfish within Manatee County waters, the Board of County Commissioners
of Manatee County, on February 7, 1995, adopted Resolution 95-44,
requesting such a prohibition. The Board made a finding that the
increase in visitors to the beaches of the county has subjected
the local mollusk and echinoderm populations to tremendous collection
pressure and concluded that action was necessary to protect and
preserve the limited resource of live shellfish within the county.
This proposed rule amendment, while not banning harvest of live
shellfish in Manatee County, does broaden the geographic scope
of the rule chapter by limiting the daily harvest of live shellfish
within Manatee County to two of any single species. The effect
of the amendment will be to safeguard the economically valuable
shell beds of the county.
SUMMARY: The title of Rule Chapter 46-26, F.A.C., is amended to
reflect the broader scope of the chapter to areas of southwest
Florida outside of Lee County. Subsections (1) and (2) of Rule
46-26.003, F.A.C., are combined to consolidate all provisions
relating to live shellfish harvest in Lee County, including Sanibel
Island, in subsection (1). A new subsection (2) is added to the
rule to limit the harvest of any live shellfish in Manatee County
to two of any single species. Possession of more than two live
shellfish of a single species seaward of the mean high water line
in the county is prohibited. Current subsection (3) is renumbered
as subsection (4), and a new subsection (3) is inserted to recognize
the ability of the Department of Environmental Protection to issue
permits to allow the harvest of live shellfish in Lee or Manatee
Counties beyond the limits established in the rule, for experimental,
scientific, or exhibitional purposes.
Notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the November 22,
Board of Trustees Agenda
Marine Fisheries Commission
March 12, 1996
Page Three
1996 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly. A two-part public
rulemaking hearing was held on the proposed rule amendment, on
January 4, 1996, in Anna Maria, Florida, and on February 5, 1996,
in Clearwater Beach. Notice of changes made to the rule as a result
of Commission action at the February 5, 1996 hearing and of this
meeting of the Board of Trustees was published in the February
23, 1996 issue of the F.A.W.
(See Attachment B, Pages 1-27)
RECOMMEND: APPROVAL
Item C Amberjack Rule 46-40.004
Consideration of proposed amendment of Rule 46-40.004, F.A.C.,
relating to the harvest of amberjack.
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: Having received testimony from fishers throughout
the state attesting to a significant depletion of amberjack stocks,
the Marine Fisheries Commission held a final public hearing in
Islamorada, Florida, in December 1995, on rule amendments designed
to revise the Commission's existing amberjack management plan.
The proposed amendments established a one fish per person per
day recreational bag limit, lowered the size limit from 28 to
20 inches, prohibited sale of amberjack during April and May of
each year, and added the three other amberjack species to the
rule chapter to protect the greater amberjack by shifting some
fishing mortality to the minor amberjack species while simultaneously
eliminating a problem existing in the recreational side of the
fishery of distinguishing between the different types of amberjacks.
Comment at the final public hearing demonstrated strong support
for the proposed April / May prohibition of sale, and for the
establishment of a reduced bag limit in Monroe County where, as
testimony indicated, there appears to be localized overfishing
of the species. Based on testimony, the Commission decided to
bring before the Board of Trustees the rule providing for the
April / May prohibition of sale, propose a reduced bag limit for
Monroe County, and hold additional workshops to determine appropriate
bag and size limits for the remainder of the state on a statewide
or regionalized basis. The purpose of these amendments is to provide
greater protection for all amberjack harvested in Monroe County.
The effect will be to avert further decline of this species in
these waters.
SUMMARY: In Rule 46-40.004, all amberjacks are included within
the bag limit provisions of this rule, and beginning July 1, 1996,
the recreational bag limit for all amberjack harvested in the
state waters of Monroe County is reduced to one fish per person
per day.
Notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the January 5,
1996 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly. A public rulemaking
hearing was held on the rule by the Commission on February 7,
1996, in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Notice of withdrawal of proposed
amendment of size limit provisions for amberjack and notice of
this meeting of the Board of Trustees was published in the February
23, 1996 issue of the F.A.W.
(See Attachment C, Pages 1-36)
RECOMMEND: APPROVAL