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Collaborating in the Design of a Marine Reserve in the Florida Keys By Andy Griffiths My Involvement I served as a member of the Tortugas 2000 Working Group, established to design a no-take ecological reserve in the Tortugas region of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The Working Group included people of many different backgrounds and interests to allow the input of a broad range of perspectives in developing reserve alternatives and to allow the preferred alternative to be selected through a collaborative process. We were told not to bring in our own interests but when I looked around the table I quickly dismissed this consideration as ivory tower nonsense. It was clear to me that everyone who earned their living from the area was there to protect their own interests. The difference was they were thinking long term and willing to sacrifice the short term. I am a big believer in focusing on long-term benefits and I found it refreshing to be in a group that shared the same view. The problem with capitalism is that many big businesses focus too much on the short term, leaving the next generation to solve the problems they've created. Did My Involvement Make A Difference? It is very hard to measure one's contribution in a process involving a facilitator and so many opinionated and educated people. I have to assume that my perspective was heard and listened to but I offered several ideas that may have been considered, but were not acted upon. I will continue to editorialize my opinions in the coming months as this process comes to the end result. As a member of the Tortugas 2000 Working Group, I favored the designation of a no fish zone because it would ban the use of fish traps, which result in bycatch of juveniles and other non-food fish that are critical to a healthy reef ecosystem. Discard mortality associated with fish traps fishing deepwater species is believed to be high because most fish have difficulty surviving the trip to the surface. I also favored protecting historical spawning grounds for certain species that my boats depend on for successful outings. I disagreed with some of the other members' assumptions about the benefits of the reserve. We cannot be sure of the benefits of a marine reserve, particularly one as remote as the Dry Tortugas. I questioned why, since there is so little fishing impact on much of the reserve, the regulations couldn't be phased in over a longer period of time? A twenty-year implementation plan seemed more reasonable to me. Let the fishermen who currently fish the area retire and the permits to fish the area retire with them. I think many commercial fishermen who are being displaced by the reserve would support such a plan. I also noted that displacement will crowd the rest of the fertile bottom and thus put more fishing pressure on a smaller area. I don't believe these comments affected the outcome of our deliberations. However, the deliberations did result in the selection of the alternative that set aside the smallest area. I think that the commercial fishing representatives and myself were effective in getting that alternative selected because we held fast to our opinion that it was the best alternative. In addition, when one member of the working group tried to hold us up at the eleventh hour, I stood up and made a passionate speech about how we all had been working together cooperatively for a year and a half and how historic this process was; especially considering the different interests involved. The rest of the group unanimously agreed with my statement, causing the member to reconsider his motion, and he voted not to block us from moving forward. I think this was a moment where my presence may have made a difference. If all members had such a moment, and I think they may have, they will defend the final plan. I have defended the plan, although I disagree with the implementation timetable and the decision to displace working people. I continue to lobby for the working fishermen and the dive boat operator. The dive boat operator especially because I know the reserve will cause him to lose his spearfishing customers. The reserve includes a popular spearfishing area with high visibility and plenty of targets to hunt. Customers who traditionally fished in that area are not likely to pay a fee to fish anywhere else. Am I Happy With The Outcome? I am happy with the result as far as the area selected goes, but I am unhappy with the fact that a handful of hard working folks will be displaced by the reserve. To displace people on an idea that the reserve may provide benefits without concrete scientific evidence that everyone holds valid is wrong. I believe that we should grant these few people a special permit to harvest this area until they retire and at that point no additional permits should be granted. One of the boats that will be displaced is a dive boat that takes people spear fishing. He takes excursions to this remote area and I do not see how one boat can cause any harm to this vast area. I would not want to see growth in this business for this area but this person is already established and making a living in this special area. If they can put one weak defenseless minority business out of business then any of us could be next. My business is very unique because we spend three days on the boat with a private party of six for great fishing far from shore. I could not partner with similar operations to lobby in numbers because there are none. Because I am few, I have little impact, but because I am few, I am an easy target. If I become a target for elimination, who will come to my rescue? This is why I am defending the commercial fishermen. I feel a kinship to them but sometimes I realize they are their own worst enemy. I believe that they bring many regulations down on themselves because of some of their destructive fishing methods. Although recreational anglers catch more fish statewide than do commercial fishermen, this is not true in the Dry Tortugas area where recreational fishing is very limited due to the area's distance from shore. I cannot see very much impact due to recreational fishing but, while I believe we do minuscule damage, I am willing to give up some area if the fish traps are eliminated. These fishermen can switch to less destructive methods. They can cut their overhead, they can add other fisheries, they can benefit by not flooding the market during the off season and selling the fish for a deflated price. They can fish harder when the price is high and keep the price high by changing their fishing methods and supplying a higher quality product. Banning recreational fishing is simply a fairness issue. The commercial fishermen cannot accept a ban that does not equally apply to the recreational sector regardless of the facts. The facts are always in question when it comes to fisheries data because all of us involved with fisheries have seen erroneous data and it is obvious that some laws are implemented based on erroneous data. Many times, I am swayed by anecdotal accounts, which I find more meaningful if they are from credible people. The data that I have reviewed since my involvement with fisheries management are not a credible information source on which to base sound policies. How Do Other Members Of My Community Feel About The Outcome? Other members of the recreational community agree with closing spawning grounds while fish are spawning but they don't agree with closing these grounds year round. We are opposed to any restrictions just for the sake of more restrictions. It was wrong to argue that recreational fishing should be banned in the area because it is damaging to the resources. This caused the scientific community to lose credibility. We don't think recreational fishing with hook and line can threaten this area. However, some accept the argument that it's unfair to restrict commercial fishermen's access to the area without equally restricting the access of recreational fishermen. It is also an enforcement issue. If some boats are allowed to continue fishing while others aren't, how can the authorities keep up? With the reserves being off limits to all, including recreational divers, any boat caught in the area is busted, case closed. So the jury is still out because the reserve proposal is too new. Catch and release fishing supporters are still not convinced. People will always resist giving up their rights. Fishermen are generally very independent and fierce about their rights. But as the number of fishermen grows, and the fish populations decline, we may be faced with limiting our rights to the resource where we can agree on the strategy. Would I Do It Again? I would look forward to participating in another process in the future. It is always a growing experience to have dialogue with intelligent, RATIONAL, honest sincere people in the exercise of pursuing a result. The facilitator must be very skilled and ours was pretty darn good. I must give him a lot of credit. While I disagree with some of his timing, and fairness, overall he was very good. The agendas were pretty clear up front and I think that helps a lot. You don't have to wonder where your colleagues are coming from. It is critical to understand the agendas before moving forward. Andy Griffiths fished commercially as a kid and has been a charterboat operator since 1981. He currently operates three 43' charterboats out of Key West for three day, two night fishing excursions to the Dry Tortugas. He has served on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council for two years and often testifies before the various regional fishery management councils and the State Council. He is a Sanctuary Advisory Committee representative on the Tortugas 2000 working group. |