Florida shrimp boats gain more access to historical trawling areas
Commercial rock shrimpers are one step closer to being allowed to fish on the Oculina coral reef bank that's been protected from their bottom-raking trawler nets since 2014.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Friday morning voted 12-1 to reopen 22 square miles of ocean bottom off Florida's central Atlantic coast, ending a process that began seven years ago. The decision needs more approvals to be final.
Dismayed environmentalists said the measure will allow the destruction of Oculina coral, also known as ivory tree coral, a deepwater, slow-growing live coral that provides essential habitat to many fish and marine organisms, including the targeted shrimp.
Shrimpers claim their gear will be fished in an environmentally conscientious manner that will not damage the coral nor blanket it with silt and other particulate matter stirred up from the ocean floor.
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Rock shrimp trawlers, mostly based in Brevard County, would drag nets along the seafloor about 16 miles offshore of St. Lucie, Indian River and Brevard counties.
Marine biologists say the trawling can rake the fragile ivory tree coral or blanket it in stirred-up sediment. Even the smallest grains of sand can bury polyps, reduce sunlight and spread bacteria, according to South Atlantic Fishery Management Council records.
Dredging operations can stir up sand particles in the water column and send them floating as far as a half-mile away and, in extreme cases, affect water quality up to 12 miles away, according to council records.
Oculina coral grows in depths of 150 to 250 feet of water, mostly along a narrow strip of the ledge of the continental shelf off Florida's east coast. It can be found growing from about due east of Fort Pierce north to just south of St. Augustine.
Much of the area where the coral is growing has been protected from shrimping and bottom fishing by modified marine protected areas.
Allowing shrimping in the area chips away at 45 years of protections:
John Reed, a longtime oceanographer for Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, has studied the Oculina reef for the bulk of his 30-year-plus career. He disagreed with the committee's decision.
"Shrimpers should not have access within the Oculina Habitat Area of Particular Concern — period," Reed emailed TCPalm. "If anything, the NOAA report shows a model that indicates there is suitable habitat for Oculina actually to the east of the current eastern border. So if anything, the boundaries should be expanded, not reduced."
Rock shrimp harvesters hauled in 941,000 pounds that sold for a little over $11 million in 2019, according to the council's most recent catch data. Records don't show how much more shrimp would be caught in the new area.
In Florida, there are 26 rock shrimp permit-holders, but only 19 actively fished for rock shrimp from 2015-19, selling to eight seafood dealers. They're from the:
Before the area was closed to fishing, shrimpers trawled along the east side of the existing boundary. Rock shrimping in that area accounted for 1.76% of the industry's total haul from 2013-14, according to council records.
In the 1950s and 1960s, boats harvested brown shrimp in the area, but would shovel thousands of pounds of rock shrimp bycatch overboard, since it was believed to be unmarketable.
Rodney Thompson of Titusville, whose family owned Dixie Crossroads restaurant and several shrimp boats, figured out a way to clean the shrimp by splitting the tough shells and broiling them the way people cook spiny lobster. The result was a delicacy to some and a commercial fishery was born.
Rock shrimp are known for their unique, strong flavor and thick outer shells that make them difficult to peel. The shell must be split down the middle to get at the meat.
Rock shrimp costs up to $29 a pound, cleaned and split, according to Wild Ocean Seafood in Titusville.
Reopening the area comes on the heels of a Trump-era executive order to reopen protected areas closed to commercial fishing and remove many fishing regulations.
The measure now will be sent to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service for final adoption.
There will be additional opportunities for public comment as part of that review process.
Then the amendment must be either approved, partially approved or disapproved by the Department of Commerce secretary, council spokesperson Kim Iverson said. If approved, rock shrimpers will be allowed to re-enter the area early in 2022.
The council is responsible for the conservation and management of fish stocks out to 200 miles off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and east Florida to Key West. It is one of eight regional councils in the U.S.
Approving Amendment 10 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coral, Coral Reefs and Live Hard Bottom Habitat of the South Atlantic Region reopens a portion of ocean bottom that has been part of the Northern Extension of the Oculina Habitat Area of Particular Concern.
The council's Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based Management Committee Thursday recommended the reopening in an 11-1 vote, with one abstention.
Just before the vote, committee members debated the possibility of postponing a decision for up to one more year, angering supporters of reopening the fishing grounds. At the center of the debate was the limited amount and poor quality of information regarding the status of the coral beds in the area.
Council staff member Roger Pugliese suggested a "know before you go" approach to learn more accurate information before allowing shrimping to begin. He said research trips could be arranged to deploy remote operated vehicles like small submarines with cameras to collect video and images of potential coral growth and other fish living in the area. The ROVs would try to find coral measuring about 4 inches tall.
Committee member Laurilee Thompson, owner of Dixie Crossroads restaurant, a seafood retailer and wholesaler in Titusville who supported the opening, was not happy with the discussion to table the vote yet again.
"I feel like Lucy is taking away the football just as Charlie Brown is trying to kick it," she said. "It's like they're moving the goal posts on us."
Ed Killer is TCPalm's outdoors writer. Sign up for his and other weekly newsletters at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage. Friend Ed on Facebook at Ed Killer, follow him on Twitter @tcpalmekiller or email him [email protected].
Will rock shrimpers gain more access? Going deep: Are we guilty of overfishing? 1975: 1984: 1994: 2000 East Coast: West Coast: Panhandle: