Study Calls for Large No-Fish Zone in Dry Tortugas

More than 200 species of fish and hundreds of different corals and sponges lie over a vast area beneath the waters around the Dry Tortugas islands, south of the Florida peninsula.

Researchers are spending a lot of time on the ocean floor counting and measuring them--one by one. They say snapper, grouper and shrimp are being overfished in an area that’s a rich breeding ground for the species, and they will recommend that a 200-square-mile area be closed to all fishing.

“If a serial killer were loose in the Keys it would be big news. What’s happening here is even more insidious--it’s serial overfishing,” said Jerry Ault, a biologist and University of Miami associate professor.

Many who earn their living fishing the area are skeptical. Although they say they favor measures that will increase fish populations, they’re not so sure closing the area is the answer.

Peter Bacle, who owns Stock Island Lobster Co. and fishes the Tortugas for lobster, stone crab, snapper and grouper, fears that taking that much ocean from fishermen--roughly a third of the Tortugas--is a step toward eliminating commercial fishing in the area.

“It’s another bite. It’s a large bite, but it probably in itself will not be the bite that kills,” he said. “They’re taking it away piece by piece.”

Researchers from Miami and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington are working with agencies that manage the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the Dry Tortugas National Park to determine what areas should be off-limits to fishing.

Commercial fishermen are already banned from 132 square miles of Tortugas waters. Recreational fishermen would also be banned from more than 50 square miles under the proposal. Also, nearly 200 square miles of the 3,674-square-mile marine sanctuary would be off-limits to all fishing.

“The point is not to hurt commercial fishing or recreation fishing; the point is ensuring fish population and ensuring a habitat that can support a diverse marine life,” said Cheva Heck, community outreach coordinator for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The number and size of sought-after fish are down considerably in the area, Ault said. Grouper, for example, are down to 5% or 10% of their historical population, he said. That’s particularly a concern because the water is where the fish spawn and then repopulate the rest of the waters around the Keys and South Florida.

“The Tortugas is really the United States’ last remaining marine frontier,” Ault said. “If we don’t take care of this area, this area is going to go down the tubes.”

The idea is to pick from the Tortugas’ 600 square miles the best spots to protect. The National Park Service and the marine sanctuary will likely put the no-fish zone in place in early fall, Ault said.

Response from fishermen has been cold to tepid. Some want no areas protected. Others admit something should be done, but are wary of the proposal.

“We’re suspect and we’re suspicious because we have a reason to be,” said Greg DiDomenico, director of Monroe County Commercial Fishermen Inc. He said it will be difficult to prove that a no-fish zone works, especially since water quality, weather and other factors can affect fish populations.

He said how fishermen react to the proposal also depends on where they tend to fish.

“I’ve tried to sit down with individual fishermen and grab the charts and show them exactly where the areas are, and that’s made them more upset or less upset, depending on the fisherman,” DiDomenico said.

But even those who don’t fish in the proposed no-fish zone should be worried, Bacle said.

“The fishermen that work primarily in that area, now it means all of them have to go into areas where other people are working. Now we have heavier stress in those areas,” he said. “It will probably lessen each man’s catch and cause friction between fishermen.”

Andy Griffiths, who runs three-day fishing excursions to the Tortugas, has mixed feelings about the proposed no-fish zone.

“Setting aside an area for protection is not a bad idea. I can’t trash it altogether,” said Griffiths, who was part of a group that worked with officials as they drew up the plan.

But it will hurt anyone who fishes the Tortugas, especially commercial fishermen, he said.

“You can’t put people out of business on an idea that might make a difference. You’ve got to be sure,” he said. “I’m impacted, but not to the degree of someone who’s laying traps on that bottom or putting lines on the bottom to catch fish for sale.”

He would like to see the government buy out fishermen or allow them to continue fishing the area until they retire, then close out their permits.

“This doesn’t have to happen in 2000. Tortugas has been there for a long time. . . . We could do it a little better if we can do it a little slower.”

Heck said she understands the concerns, but said the marine sanctuary is managed under the U.S. Department of Commerce, which will not deliberately drive fishermen out of business.

“When people’s livelihood is at stake, there’s a lot of fear,” she said, adding that the fear commercial fishing will end is unfounded. “That is something that it’s safe to say you will never see--not in a national marine sanctuary.”

Still, Bacle tells his 18-year-old son to go to college before following five generations of fishermen out to sea.

“He’s been at the fish house his whole life, and he’s been on the boats, and that’s what he loves,” he said. “I’m doing everything I can to get him to go to college first and then come back to commercial fishing, if it’s still there. But I want him to have something to fall back on.”