Sound off about grouper

Anglers will get their last chance tonight to tell federal fishery regulators how they feel about a proposed three-month closed season for grouper. The National Marine Fisheries Service wants to shut down all grouper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico from Jan. 15 to April 15, the height of the tourist season.

Biologists say that gag grouper stocks are in trouble and that the closure, and a one fish bag limit, are needed to restore the population to healthy numbers. But on Tuesday, the reef fish advisory panel to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, the federal agency that will actually vote on the proposed rules next month, recommended that no action be taken.

An independent scientist, hired by recreational and commercial fishing groups, pointed out errors in the government data, noting that overfishing for the species has already ended. But this isn't the first time the federal government has been wrong about grouper.

The NMFS once said red grouper stocks were in trouble, only to reverse course after new information came to light. The problem is that wheels of federal bureaucracy move slowly. Stock assessments proceed at a glacier-like pace, and by the time action can be taken, the situation has already changed.

Recreational groups, such as the Seminole based Fishing Rights Alliance, have maintained for more than a year that a bad economy and sky-rocketing oil prices have reduced the fishing pressure on grouper. It now appears that the recreational anglers were right all along.

But this issue still must be voted on and anglers have on last chance to let their feelings be known at a public hearing tonight at the Radisson Hotel, 12600 Roosevelt Blvd., in St. Petersburg. The discussion starts at 6 p.m.

Grouper victory

Fishing rights groups scored a major victory Tuesday when an advisory panel to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Commission said there is no scientific need to change gag grouper regulations

In a 13 to 1 vote, the Council's reef fish advisory panel recommended that no action be taken on gag grouper. The National Marine Fisheries Commission, the federal agency that regulates this deepwater species, had proposed a three-month closed season and lower bag limit to stop over fishing.

But a well-known Canadian marine biologist, Dr. Trevor Kenchington, hired by hired recreational and commercial fishing groups to review the data, pointed out errors in the government's stock assessments.

"He basically showed that the overfishing had ended," said Charlene Ponce, spokeswoman for the Gulf Council. "He is scheduled to make a presentation to the full council in April, at which time final action will be taken."

In a rare show of unity, a sport fishing group, the Fishing Rights Association and a commercial organization, the Southern Offshore Fishermen's Association, pooled their resources to hire Kenchington, a scientist who has proved federal regulators wrong before.

"This is a big day for us," said the FRA's Dennis O'Hern who has led the fight against the proposed regulations. "The numbers were there all along. All we needed is a PHD with no agenda to come in and show them where they had made a mistake."

Citizens will get their chance to sound off about the proposed grouper rules on Wednesday, when the Gulf Council holds a public hearing on the subject at the Raddison Hotel on Roosevelt Boulevard in St. Petersburg.

For more information, go to www.gulfcouncil.org.

Grouper season opens

After being stuck in port for one month, grouper fishermen finally get a chance to fish once again for the Gulf of Mexico's premiere offshore sportfish. Grouper season has been closed since Feb. 15 and anglers are eager to head to deep water and bring home some fish. But as fishermen relish the opportunity to catch these bottom dwellers, many are up in arms because of another looming federal closure. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is considering new regualtions that would shut down all recreational grouper fihsing in the Gulf of Mexico from Jan. 15 to April 15 starting in 2008. In addition, federal officials also want to reduce the aggregate bag limit from five fish to three fish, only one of which may be a gag grouper. Local tackle shops and charter boat captains say such measures, coming at the height of tourist season, would decimate the West Coast recreational fishery. Anglers are now questioning the government's overall strategy. If grouper stocks are in such bad shape, and anglers may be limited to just three fish, why is there still a commercial fishing industry that is allowed to catch 6,000 pounds of grouper per trip. Many anglers feel that federal officials need to take a new approach to fishery management and re-examine the way stocks are split up between the recrational and commercial sectors. There is a groundswell of support to move the longline fishing fleet out to beyond the 50 fathom line as in required in the other Gulf states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Anglers will have a chance voice their concerns on goruper this Wednesday when the Gulf Council meets at the radisson Hotel, 12600 Roosevelt Blvd., St. Petersburg. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.

Free boats

Well, not exactly. But with the way the marine industry is going these days, it seems like dealers are practically giving boats away. Rising gas prices, a stagnant real estate market and uncertainty about the economy have rattled consumer confidence. As a result, would be boat buyers are thinking twice before adding another payment to their monthly bills.

This is bad for boat dealers, but good for consumers. Boat dealers have inventory on their lots that they have to move and they most are willing to make a deal.

I strolled around Tropicana Field yesterday as vendors were setting up for the Tampa Bay Boat Sale and couldn't believe the packed house. Every foot of floor space was taken up with cruisers, center consoles, ski boats and runabouts. I stopped and talked to a few salesman, each of whom was hoping to go home Sunday evening, minus the inventory.

The show opens today at 10 a.m. If you are in the market for a boat, get there early and walk the floor with with a pen and pad of paper. Take notes on what you see, paying close attention to those features that you can't live without and those you could take take or leave.

When making a major purchase such as a boat, some times it is best to sit back and watch the price. But it this case, it is possible to wait too long. Most dealers have brought boats they want to move. Wait too long and you just might lose the deal of a lifetime.

I talked to one dealer on Thursday who recently cut the sticker price by $30,000 (yes, five zeroes) and threw in a complete set of electronics just to make a sale. The move cut his profit margin in half, but he made a profit nonetheless.

You anglers may just want to head to the show to listen to some of the St. Petersburg Times Captain Corner correspondents at the Gulf & Bay Fishing School. Some of the area's best anglers will be offering around the clock advice on how to catch the big ones.

For more information go to the Tampa Bay Boat Sale.

Improve your sex life, save the bay

They say oysters are good for you sex life. I don't know if that has been scientifically verified. But this much is true: oysters are filter feeders so estuaries with healthy populations of these crustaceans generally have better water clarity.

Tampa Bay Watch, the area's leading bay advocacy group, has been building oyster shell reefs throughout Tampa Bay. Constructed from old oyster shells, these man made reefs help mimic natural communities, providing habitat for a variety of marine life. Once the old oyster shells are down, live oysters take root, and before you know it, you have a thriving oyster reef.

Until now, Tampa Bay Watch has had to buy old oyster shells, spending money that could be used for other projects such as sea grass restoration. But Bay Watch will be paying for oyster shells no longer. Crabby Bills, the legendary seafood restaurant on Indian Rocks Beach, has agreed to donate its used oyster shells to the environmental organization.

In 2007 alone, Bay Watch volunteers have installed 97 tons of oyster shells around the bay. Crabby Bills produces at least one ton of shells per week at its Indian Rocks location alone. The restaurant will also be selling a recycled green ware cup the proceeds of which benefit other Bay Watch restoration projects.

For more information, go to http://www.tampabaywatch.org/.

Busted!

Two Volusia County fishermen face $16,000 in fines after state wildlife officers found numerous violations when they boarded their vessel, Mama's Money II, in Ponce Inlet.

The incident occurred on Jan. 12, but since the violations occurred in federal waters, agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's office of law enforcement were called in to assist in the investigation. In the end, officers seized 35 whole snapper and 128 fillets as evidence.

The vessel's owner, Rudolph Dendekker, a 53-year-old Deltona resident, and the vessel operator Herbert Regen Jr., a 55-year-old from South Daytona, were issued permit sanctions and civil penalties for failing to maintain fish intact (red snapper, mutton snapper and cobia), exceeding the bag limit (red snapper), possessing undersized fish (red snapper), making false statements and/or obstructing or interfering with an investigation.

According to investigators, some of the fillets were concealed in the boat's hold. Federal officials submitted the fillets to a lab for DNA analysis which confirmed the fillets were from red snapper, mutton snapper and cobia.

Around the world, one step at a time

On Saturday, 27-year-old Darren Wendell, hit the trail in North Georgia on the first leg of a seven-year backpacking trip that will ultimately take him 18,000 miles around the world.

The adventurer, backed by gear giant Kelty, is trying to raise awareness regarding the world's water woes. And you can bet this boy will get thirsty as he takes an estimated 36 million steps before it is all over. A 2003 graduate of Kentucky Christian University, Wendell will visit 14 different countries including Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Austria, Russia and Canada.

This isn't Wendell's first adventure. At age 23 he rode his bicycle from Oregon to Virginia Beach, a distance of 4,400 miles. "I have never felt so alive," he said. And sore, I'm sure.

But you have to hand it to this guy. His earth expedition is not just some idle quest. The world has some real water woes. Here in the United States, we tend to take clean water for granted. Just turn on he tap and have a drink. But spend some time in the back country - be it in a kayak, canoe or on foot - and suddenly you start wondering where the next watering hole will be.

We wish this hombre luck. He'll need it. You can follow his exploits on the earthexpedition website.

Ocean deserts

Anybody who has ever been scuba diving in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico know that the bottom topography more closely resembles a desert than a forest. But a new study by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Hawaii show that the least biologically productive areas of the ocean may be expanding due to increased sea surface temperatures.

Between 1998 and 2007, the areas of low surface plant life in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans grew by 15 percent or by an additional 6.6 million square kilometers. This expansion is occurring at the same time that sea surface temperatures are increasing about one percent each year.

These barren areas are now found in roughly 20 percent of the world's oceans and are typically withing subtropical gyres - vast, swirling areas of water on either side of the equator.

In the Pacific, the least productive areas are expanding from the center toward Hawaii. In the Atlantic, the "desert zone" is expanding from the Caribbean toward Africa.

Is this a natural cycle? Can humans do something to stop this warming trend? Nobody knows for sure, but following a few simple green rules that every first grader knows (reduce, re-use, recycle) surely can't hurt.

$100,000 for sitting on the couch

Fantasy fisher, Christopher Toring of Minneapolis, Minn., won $100,000 this week for picking the top finishers in a recent FLW Bass Tour event on Florida's Lake ToHo. It was the first of seven grand prizes the tournament trail will award over the next several months to armchair anglers who log on to fantasyfishing.com.

Toho was the first stop of the 2008 FLW bass tour. Toring will be eligible to compete for the $1,000,000 grand prize, a purse equal to that of the angler that actually wins the tour title. Toring credited using the Player's Advantage, a feature on the fantasy fishing website, with helping him pick the winning field.

Wesley Story of Clark Hills, S.C., finished second in the fantasy version of the season opener, and for his efforts, received a $5,000 gift card to Wal-Mart, which is the tour's title sponsor. Next up, a tournament in Birmingham, Ala. on April 3, where another $100,000 will be up for grabs.

The FLW Tour will give away $7.3 million in prizes this year, including cash, Ranger boats, a Chevy Silverado, Yamaha and BRP ATVs and personal watercraft, gift cards and free gasoline. Fantasy fishing is free to play.

Participants earn points based on their fantasy fishing team of ten anglers' placement finishes for each of seven events. The $1 million cash prize will go to the overall points winner at the end of the season. A $5 million bonus will be paid out to the first player to correctly rank the top seven finsheshers in a tournament.

Grouper bash

Federal officials want to shut down the recreational grouper fishery from Jan. 15 to April 15 next year, and this quite predictably, has anglers up in arms. Also on the table is a plan to cut the bag limit from five to three fish, only one of which may be a gag.

Tackle shop owners, charter boat captains, and average anglers alike believe this will cripple the West Coast's recreational fishing industry. Sportfishing rights groups oppose the measures and say instead that federal officials should instead look at the way grouper stocks are divided between the recreational and commercial sectors.

The Seminole-based Fishing Rights Alliance is leading the fight to preserve anglers' rights here in the Gulf of Mexico and will be hosting a Grouper Bash tonight from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Gators On the Pass in Treasure Island.

Nationally-known offshore angler Travis Paladeno will be giving a free seminar at 6 p.m. and FRA founder Dennis O'Hern will be there to give the latest update on this ongoing battle. To learn more, check out the FRA.

3 days 11 hours 35 minutes

That is how long it took Bill Fite, a.k.a. Jarhead, and Ron Hoddinott, a.k.a. Waterscribe, to make it from St. Petersburg to Key Largo in their open-cockpit sailboat, Moonshadow. The two ended up placing third in the 300-mile long Watertribe Challenge.

The first boat to finish was  a 20-foot Tornado catamaran, sailed by Steve Lohmayer and Jamie Livingston. They finished in a stunning 1 day 11 hours and 48 minutes, no easy feat, for the pair had to stop three times along the way and check in.

Every year, roughly 40 teams compete in this ultimate race for small boats. Waterscribe described it as a "balance of mental and physical strengths." Having done the race in 2001 in a sea kayak, I have to agree. There were several times during our six day ordeal that I wondered why in heavens would subject themselves to such punishment.

The boat that Fite and Hoddinott sailed, the Sea Pearl, was made in Tarpon Springs. This boat is probably the finest shallow-draft sailboat on the market and ideal for a race like the Watertribe Challenge.

I hope to do the race again next year, this time in a 45-foot outrigger canoe. The canoe, under sail, could be every bit as fast as The Tornado. Only time will tell.

For a complete report on this year's race, visit the tribe.

Biggest shark ever caught?

A Florida fisherman on Wednesday caught a hammerhead shark that weighs more than 1,000 pounds. It was almost 14 feet long.

Still, it may not be the biggest ever caught. The current record is 1,280 pounds.

Around 2 p.m., Fritz Van der Grift was fishing with his father, a friend and charter captain Greg Bogdan in shallow water just off Singer Island. Van der Grift said it took nearly and hour and a half to bring the fish to the boat. He said he never intended to kill the shark.

All they were hoping for was a few pictures and a quick release. But the fish was injured in the fight, became exhausted and drowned.

The shark is not a protected animal. Its organs will be flown to labs as far away as San Diego for research.

(Photo: WPEC-TV CBS-12 West Palm Beach. Click to enlarge.)

Pirate ship sinks

The Treasure Seeker, a 65-foot, diesel-powered replica of a pirate ship commonly used for kid's birthday parties, sank off the Bahamas last week. The ship, a mainstay at the St. Petersburg Pier, was en route to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Fortunately, no lives were lost, thanks to a rented emergency rescue beacon that the crew had brought along. The five crew members were picked up by a 104-foot dive boat, the SV Juliet, which was departing the Turks and Caicos at the time.

A routine inspection on Feb. 27 revealed water in the Treasure Seeker's bilge. After the captain realized the leak could not be fixed, he activated the rented Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) and the signal was picked up in Miami by the U.S. Coast Guard, which then sent out a notice to mariners. The dive boat heard the call and diverted 45 miles to the sinking boat.

The captain later commented that he had tried to hail help on his VHF radio, but it was no use. He credited the the EPIRB, which he had rented from BoatU.S. with saving his life. The $750 EPIRBs can be rented for as little as $40 a week. For more information, call 1-888-663-7472 or visit BoatUS.

One long swimmer

What were you doing in 1996? Eleven years is a long time, especially if you are a shark. But a small sharpnose, caught that year by Mote Marine Laboratory scientists of Pensacola was recaptured last spring by a charter boat captain off Ship Island, Miss., about 103 miles from where it was originally tagged.

The Sarasota-based research facility has tagged more than 16,000 sharks over the past 17 years, but this little sharpnose, a species that is often prey for larger sharks, set a record. The shark was at large for 3,925 days, which just goes to prove that tagging can produce valuable information for researchers studying the movements of these open-ocean predators.

Every year, Mote holds a contest for anglers who have returned tags from sharks they have caught. Last year, 25 tag returns were eligible for three $100 prizes.

The winners are: James Cooper of Tarpon Springs who caught a bull shark off the Bahia Honda Bridge that had been tagged 828 days earlier; Andy Miller of Fort McCoy who caught a sharpnose near Crystal River that had been tagged 1,914 days earlier; and Kathy Dyke of Wisconsin who caught a bull shark near Naples that had been tagged 277 days before.

Anglers who catch a tagged shark can call 1-800-691-MOTE. For more information, go to the center's Website.

The Sea Pearl

If you were travel down the West Coast of Florida in a human powered craft, what kind of boat would you choose. The 300 or mile so Everglades Challenge, which starts in St. Petersburg and ends at Key Largo, is not for the faint of heart. In t2001, the first year it was held, more than half of the fleet foundered before even making it across Tampa Bay.

The rules are simple. Row, paddle or sail. No engines of any kind.

There were more than a dozen different types of boats that took off Saturday morning, but one caught my eye. The 21-foot Sea Pearl, built by Marine Concepts in Tarpon Springs, is an open cockpit boat that can sail in less than a foot of water. It is light, fast, and best of all trailerable.

There were several Sea Pearl's in this year's race. I've been following the progress of Moonshadow, owned by Bill Fite, a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer. When I checked last, Fite, who goes by the nom de guerre "Jarhead," was ready to cross Florida Bay with his pal Waterscribe.

I predict they'll make landfall in Key Largo this evening. You can follow their exploits on the Watertribe website. I am eager to talk with the sailors. I am hoping to some day buy one of these wind machines and take it around Florida. But unlike a surfboard, this sailboat will be a little hard to hide from my wife.

The Water Tribe

They came in kayaks, canoes, catamarans, tri-marans and monohulls, all with one thing in mind, to make it from St. Petersburg to Key Largo, without the aid of combustion engines. The unsupported adventure race, dubbed the Everglades Challenge, is roughly 300 miles and takes most people anywhere from five to eight days to complete, although a few hardy sous have finished as quickly as 2 days, 8 hours and 56 minutes.

This year's fleet, which left this morning at roughly 7 a.m. from Ft. DeSoto County Park, drew 60 people in 48 boats. The crafts ranged from the ultra-fast, open-cockpit, 21-foot Sea Pearl sailboats, to a fellow in an 8-foot dinghy.

In 2001, the first and roughest running of the race, I headed south in a two-man kayak with Jon Willis, a.k.a., Cornish Jon. Water Tribers all have nom de guerres, and this a Englishman proved a veritable Old Salt. After tipping over in Tampa Bay (half of the 30 or so paddlers dropped out the first day) we hooked up with St. Pete's George Stovall, a.k.a. Sandspur.

With stops in Boca Grande, Chokoloskee and Everglades City, we more than once thought about quitting. But we stuck together, finally coming ashore 6 days, 7 hours and 22 minutes after starting. Stovall, Willis and I hope to do the race again next year, this time in a 45-foot Hawaiian outrigger canoe.

Sandspur has rigged the canoe for sailing and we think, if the win is favorable, we might just set a new course record. Then again, we might find ourselves beached somewhere in the 10,000 Islands wondering why we would subject ourselves to such punishment again.

You can follow this year's race on the Watertribe's website. Steve Isaac,a.k.a., Chief, is the man who pulls this all together. He just built (yes, with his own two hands) himself a new trimaran that should prove formidable.

If you like adventure in small boats, this the place for you. See you on the water.

H.D. Agua