Cabinet Affairs

Consideration of research recommendations by the Marine Fisheries Commission pursuant to Section 370.027(1), Florida Statutes.

The following recommendations are made in order of priority:

1. The Department of Environmental Protection should expand its fishery independent inshore monitoring program to all regions of Florida.

2. The Department should continue the existing program to evaluate life history and present status of selected species, including snook, amberjack, and shellfish and sponges.

3. Increased emphasis should be placed on the identification of important time and area spawning aggregations for certain species such as snook and amberjack.

4. There should be a program to evaluate the ecological significance of baitfish stock abundance.

5. The Department should initiate a new program to evaluate the basic life history of the tropical-ornamental reef fishes which are regulated under the Commission's Marine Life rules.

6. The commercial landings statistics program should be maintained and upgraded to increase the biostatistical sampling for critical information such as length, sex, and age of the species being harvested.

7. The Department should increase the emphasis on developing predictive modelling capabilities linking larval/juvenile recruitment and oceanographic processes to subsequent adult availability.

(See Attachment A, Pages 1-2)

RECOMMEND: ACCEPTANCE

Item B Gear Specifications and Prohibited Gear

Rule Chapters 46-3 46-4 46-23 46-36 46-42

Consideration of proposed amendments and rule repeals for Marine Fisheries Commission rule chapters dealing with local laws, gear specifications and prohibited gear, Spanish mackerel, black drum, and marine life, to eliminate obsolete provisions made unnecessary by Article X, Section 16 of the State Constitution.

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: On November 8, 1994, the electorate of the State of Florida adopted Article X, Section 16 to the State Constitution. The provision prohibits the use of gill or entangling nets to take marine animals and places limitations on other nets in nearshore and inshore Florida waters. The purpose of these rule amendments and rule repeals for various chapters of MFC rules is to conform the rules to the constitutional provision by deleting inconsistent netting regulations and amending other provisions relating to gear still allowed by the constitutional provision. The effect of this rulemaking will be to eliminate obsolete gear specifications and implement the constitutional provision's uniform regulatory regime.

SUMMARY: Subsection (2) and paragraph (3)(i) of Rule 46-3.008, F.A.C., are amended to update obsolete references to the former Department of Natural Resources. Paragraph (3)(c) is amended to delete provisions regulating gill nets in specified areas of Volusia County. A provision prohibiting the use of nets within 100 yards of bridges, piers, docks, and other structures in the county is amended to apply to beach or haul seines. Paragraph (3)(d), which regulates gill net use in other portions of the county, is deleted and paragraph (3)(e) is redesignated. Paragraph (3)(f), which prohibits the use of nets within 500 yards of jetties and inlets in the county, is amended to apply to beach or haul seines and provisions relating to gill net use near jetties, inlets, and bathing beaches are deleted. Paragraph (3)(g) is redesignated and amended to place a length limit on wing nets used to harvest shrimp in the inland waters of the county. The remaining paragraphs of the subsection are redesignated.

Subsection (2) of Rule 46-3.029, F.A.C., is amended to correct an obsolete reference to the former Department of Natural Resources. Subsections (3) and (4), which establish seasonal minimum mesh sizes for gill or trammel nets and maximum lengths for nets, in Hernando County, are deleted. Subsection (5) of the rule, which prohibits the use of nets from a vessel under power in the county, is renumbered and amended to apply to trawls and beach or haul seines.

Subsection (2) of Rule 46-3.032, F.A.C., is amended to correct an obsolete reference to the former Department of Natural Resources. Subsection (3), which specifies allowable nets and traps that can be used in the inside waters of Martin County, is amended to delete references to gill or trammel nets and to update a reference to crab trap regulations.

Rule 46-4.004, F.A.C., is amended to limit the prohibition against use of power to retrieve a net or seine in inside waters to beach or haul seines and the scope of the rule is expanded to apply to nearshore and inshore Florida waters. References to gill or trammel nets are deleted. Rule 46-4.006, F.A.C., which specifies a maximum mesh size for gill nets, is repealed.

Subsections (1) and (2) of Rule 46-4.007, F.A.C., which specify requirements for net fishing in certain east coast counties, are deleted. Subsection (3) is renumbered and amended to apply only to beach or haul seines fished in specified inshore waters of Martin County during certain months of the year. Subsection (4), which provides a broad definition of the term "net" for purposes of the rule, is deleted. Subsection (5) is renumbered and amended to correct references to retained provisions elsewhere in the rule. Rule 46-4.0085, F.A.C., which prohibits recreational use of gill and trammel nets and limits recreational seines, is being repealed.

Rule 46-4.013, F.A.C., which limits the use of spotter planes, is amended to delete an exception allowing the use of such planes in conjunction with net harvest of Spanish mackerel. Subsection (1) of Rule 46-4.014, F.A.C., is clarify that purse seines cannot be used inshore of a line 3 miles offshore of Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Manatee Counties. Subsection (3) is amended to correct an obsolete reference to the former Department of Natural Resources. Subsection (1) of Rule 46-4.015, F.A.C., which allows recreational gill net fishing under specified conditions until January 1, 1995, in the Panhandle Region, is deleted. Subsection (2), which closes various areas of the Panhandle Region to net fishing, is renumbered and limited to apply to beach or haul seines. Subsection (3) of the rule is renumbered and amended to correct an obsolete reference to the former Department of Natural Resources. Rule 46-4.016, F.A.C.,which allows recreational gill net fishing under specified conditions until January 1, 1995, in the Big Bend Region, is repealed.

Subsection (1) of Rule 46-4.017, F.A.C., is amended to limit the two unconnected seines used in a "wing ding" two net seine operation to 500 square feet each. Subsection (2) is amended to limit the seasonal inshore waters netting prohibitions in the Southwest Region to beach and haul seines. Gill net provisions are deleted from subsection (3), which provides restrictions within the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge/Sanibel Conservation Zone. Subsection (4) is amended to delete references to gill and trammel nets. Subsection (5), which defines the term "net" to include gill and trammel nets, is deleted from the rule.

Rule 46-23.001, F.A.C., which states the purpose and intent of the rule chapter governing Spanish mackerel, is amended to delete all references to gill nets. Rule 46-23.002, F.A.C., the definition section for the chapter, is amended to restate the definition of the term "commercial harvest" to delete reference to nets and to delete definitions of the terms ""power-assisted gill net" and "weekend". Rule 46-23.003, F.A.C., which provides gear specifications for the harvest of Spanish mackerel, is amended to delete net gear requirements and replace such language with a prohibition on the use of any gear other than hook and line, cast net, and beach or haul seine gear to harvest the species. Paragraph (1)(b) of Rule 46-23.004, F.A.C., is amended to delete requirements for transfer of Spanish mackerel between vessels using specified net gear and to replace the language with a prohibition on transfer of Spanish mackerel between vessels.

The definition of the term "commercial harvest" in subsection (2) of Rule 46-36.002, F.A.C., relating to black drum, is amended to delete reference to "net or seine" when to determining intent to sell black drum and to clarify that harvest in excess of the recreational bag limit will be considered commercial harvest.

Paragraph (1)(b) of Rule 46-42.007, F.A.C., a rule providing gear specifications for the harvest of tropical fish, is amended to establish a maximum length for barrier nets of 60 feet, with a maximum depth of 8 feet, and a maximum dimension of 12 feet for drop nets.

Notices of proposed rulemaking were published in the July 5, 1996 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly. A public rulemaking hearing was neither requested nor held by the Commission on these proposed rules. Notice of this meeting of the Board of Trustees was published as part of the original notice.

(See Attachment B, Pages 1-103) RECOMMEND: APPROVAL

Item C Trap Fisheries Vessel Marking Rule

Chapters 46-13 46-24 46-45

Consideration of proposed rule amendments for MFC rule chapters relating to stone crabs, spiny lobster, and blue crabs, to implement uniform vessel marking requirements for these trap fisheries.

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: Prior to the creation of the Marine Fisheries Commission, rules regulating the permanent and conspicuous display on boats of stone crab, spiny lobster, and blue crab trap numbers, had been in the Florida Administrative Code rule chapters of the Department of Natural Resources. These rules were subsequently transferred to the authority of the Department of Environmental Protection after the two environmental agencies merged. Recently, however, the department repealed these rules in response to the Governor's rule reduction initiative. As Section 370.027, Florida Statutes, grants the Marine Fisheries Commission exclusive rulemaking authority with respect to designated areas relating to marine life, including gear specifications, the Marine Patrol, recognizing the continued need for these gear regulations, contacted the Commission requesting these requirements be added to Chapters 46-13, 46-24, and 46-45, F.A.C.

Accordingly, the purpose of these rule amendments is to adopt in Title 46, and therefore maintain, marking requirements for stone crab, spiny lobster, and blue crab trap numbers. The effect will be to ensure that traps used in these fisheries are in compliance with Commission rules promoting the abundance of these resources.

SUMMARY: A new subparagraph a. is added to subsection (2)(e)2., of Rule 46-13.002, F.A.C., requiring that any person harvesting stone crabs for commercial purposes, permanently and conspicuously display so as to be viewed from the air, the buoy design which has been approved by the DEP. The buoy design shall be permanently affixed to the uppermost structural portion of the vessel and displayed horizontally with the painted design up. It is further required that the display exhibit the harvester's approved buoy design, in an unobstructed manner, on a circle 20 inches in diameter, outlined in a contrasting color, together with the permit numbers permanently affixed beneath the circle in numerals no smaller than 10 inches in height. A new subparagraph b. is added to the same subsection of the same rule requiring the permanent and conspicuous display, so as to be viewed from the water, of the buoy design which has been approved by the DEP, which shall be displayed and permanently affixed vertically to both the starboard and port sides of the vessel near amidship. Further, the display shall: exhibit the harvester's approved buoy design, in an unobstructed manner, on a circle 8 inches in diameter, outlined in a contrasting color, together with the permit numbers permanently affixed beneath the circle in numerals no smaller than 4 inches in height.

Subsection (3) of Rule 46-24.006, F.A.C., is amended to specify certain trap components for spiny lobster traps so as to standardize the gear specifications of these traps with other trap fisheries. A new subparagraph (a) is added to subsection (4), of Rule 46-24.006, F.A.C., requiring that any person harvesting spiny lobster for commercial purposes, permanently and conspicuously display so as to be viewed from the air, the buoy design which has been approved by the DEP. The buoy design shall be permanently affixed to the uppermost structural portion of the vessel and displayed horizontally with the painted design up. It is further required that the display exhibit the harvester's approved buoy design, in an unobstructed manner, on a circle 20 inches in diameter, outlined in a contrasting color, together with the permit numbers permanently affixed beneath the circle in numerals no smaller than 10 inches in height. A new subparagraph (b) is also added to the same subsection of the same rule requiring the permanent and conspicuous display, so as to be viewed from the water, of the buoy design which has been approved by the DEP, which shall be displayed and permanently affixed vertically to both the starboard and port sides of the vessel near amidship. Further, the display shall; exhibit the harvester's approved buoy design, in an unobstructed manner, on a circle 8 inches in diameter, outlined in a contrasting color, together with the permit numbers permanently affixed beneath the circle in numerals no smaller than 4 inches in height.

A new subparagraph a. is added to subsection (1)(a)3., of Rule 46-45.004, F.A.C., requiring that any person harvesting blue crabs for commercial purposes, permanently and conspicuously display so as to be viewed from the air, the buoy design which has been approved by the DEP. The buoy design shall be permanently affixed to the uppermost structural portion of the vessel and displayed horizontally with the painted design up. It is further required that the display exhibit the harvester's approved buoy design, in an unobstructed manner, on a circle 20 inches in diameter, outlined in a contrasting color, together with the permit numbers permanently affixed beneath the circle in numerals no smaller than 10 inches in height. Allowance is also made for a vessel with an open design, such as a skiff, so that in lieu of a separate display, one seat can be painted with buoy assigned color and permit numbers, unobstructed and no smaller than 10 inches in height, and painted in contrasting color. A new subparagraph b. is added to the same subsection of the same rule requiring the permanent and conspicuous display, so as to be viewed from the water, of the buoy design which has been approved by the DEP, which shall be displayed and permanently affixed vertically to both the starboard and port sides of the vessel near amidship. Further, the display shall; exhibit the harvester's approved buoy design, in an unobstructed manner, on a circle 8 inches in diameter, outlined in a contrasting color, together with the permit numbers permanently affixed beneath the circle in numerals no smaller than 4 inches in height.

Notices of proposed rulemaking were published in the July 5, 1996 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly. A public rulemaking hearing by the Commission was neither requested nor held on these proposed rules. Notice of this meeting of the Board of Trustees was published as part of the original notice.

(See Attachment C, Pages 1-37)

RECOMMEND: APPROVAL

Item D Bay, Okaloosa, and Washington Counties Shrimping

Rule 46-31.005

Consideration of proposed amendment of Rule 46-31.005, F.A.C., relating to shrimping in Bay, Okaloosa, and Washington Counties.

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: Chapter 24111, Laws of Florida (1947), as amended by Chapter 25423, 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 the Commission for repeal or amendment pursuant to the Commission's enabling law, Chapter 83-134, Laws of Florida, as amended by Chapter 84-121, Laws of Florida. Chapter 24111, as amended, closes all the inside waters of Bay, Okaloosa, and Washington Counties to all harvest of shrimp from July 1 through September 30 each year, and from December 1 through March 31 of the succeeding year. This provision has remained on the books for all the years since 1949, but at some point, enforcement of the closures was discontinued. The purpose of this rule amendment is to repeal section 1 of this special act.

The effect of the rule amendment will be to allow shrimp harvesters in these counties, who have consistently fished the inside waters of the Bay and Okaloosa Counties during these closure periods for as long as anyone can remember, to continue to harvest shrimp there. There is no food shrimp production in inland Washington County.

SUMMARY: A new subsection (4) is added to Rule 46-31.005, F.A.C., to repeal Section 1 of Chapter 24111, Laws of Florida (1947), as amended by Chapter 25423, Laws of Florida (1949), and to make the required finding that the repeal of these special act provisions will not adversely affect the marine resources of Bay, Okaloosa, or Washington Counties, or of the State of Florida.

Notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the July 5, 1996 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly. A public rulemaking hearing by the Commission was neither requested nor held on this proposed rule. Notice of this meeting of the Board of Trustees was published as part of the original notice.

(See Attachment D, Pages 1-11)

RECOMMEND: APPROVAL

Item E Mullet Rule Chapter 46-39

Consideration of proposed rule amendments, new rule, and rule repeal for Rule Chapter 46-39, F.A.C., relating to mullet.

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: On November 8, 1994, the electorate of the State of Florida adopted Article X, Section 16 to the State Constitution. The provision prohibits the use of gill or entangling nets to take marine animals and places limitations on other nets in nearshore and inshore Florida waters. The purpose of these rule amendments, new rule, and rule repeal is to conform the Marine Fisheries Commission's rules governing mullet harvest to the new provision and recognize the transition of the commercial fishery to the use of cast nets as primary harvesting gear. The mullet commercial fishery in Florida had been a gill net fishery. With gill nets out of the fishery, there will be no need for gill net specifications, pre-roe season daily vessel limits, and the ten-day late December closed seasons. Area closures, to the extent they involve gill net gear, will be unnecessary, though closed areas relating to the taking of commercial quantities by any gear will be retained. A new rule will be added to the rule chapter to clearly indicate the allowable gears for harvest of mullet. The rule will also prohibit the possession of a gill or entangling net together with a commercial quantity of mullet aboard a vessel, to further the existing prohibition against harvest of mullet beyond three miles from shore on both the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. The effect of this rulemaking will be to clearly indicate that gill nets will no longer be allowed in the mullet fishery and to indicate that many measures designed to increase the abundance of the spawning population of mullet are no longer appropriate.

SUMMARY: Subsection (3) of Rule 46-39.002, F.A.C., the definition section for the chapter, is amended to restate the definition of the term "harvest for commercial purposes" to delete reference to nets and seines. Subsections (6) of the rule, the definition of the term "spotter plane" is deleted and remaining subsections are renumbered. Rule 46-39.0035, F.A.C., which establishes a recreational harvest closed season, is repealed.

Subsection (1) of new Rule 46-39.0047 prohibits the use of any gear to harvest mullet other than cast nets (no larger than 12 feet 7 inches in radius), beach or haul seines (500 square feet or less in total area), hook and line gear (with snatch hooking prohibited), or gigs, and subsection (2) prohibits simultaneous possession aboard a vessel of commercial quantities of mullet and any gill or entangling net. Subsection (1) of Rule 46-39.005, F.A.C., is amended to delete references to regional gear rules that have been repealed. Subsection (2), which specifies a statewide minimum gill and trammel net minimum mesh size during non-roe harvest periods of the year, is deleted. Subsections (3) and (4) are renumbered. Subsection (5), which establishes a daily commercial vessel limit for mullet, is deleted. Subsection (6), which closes a 10-day period to commercial mullet harvest beginning in late December each year, is deleted. The prohibition on the use of spotter planes to harvest mullet in subsection (7) is deleted.

Subsection (2) of Rule 46-39.006, F.A.C., which establishes a gill and trammel net minimum mesh size in the Panhandle Region during roe season, is deleted. Rule 46-39.008, F.A.C., a rule governing commercial mullet harvest in the Pasco-Lee Region, is amended to delete paragraph (2)(a), a gill and trammel net minimum mesh size during roe season, and subsection (3), a prohibition of the use and possession of gill and trammel nets and special bag limit for portions of St. Petersburg in Pinellas County. A special bag limit remains in place for these areas of Pinellas County by virtue of Rule 46-39.0045, F.A.C., which is unaffected by this rulemaking.

Notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the July 5, 1996 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly. A notice of correction was published in the July 26, 1996 issue. A public rulemaking hearing was held by the Commission on August 6-7, 1996, in Cocoa Beach, Florida. A notices of changes made to the rules as a result of the hearing was published in the August 23, 1996 issue of the F.A.W. Notice of this meeting of the Board of Trustees was published as part of the original notice.

(See Attachment E, Pages 1-59)

RECOMMEND: APPROVAL