Live in Florida!

As I write this, I’m currently sunning myself (fishing!) on a family holiday in the Florida Keys. When I get back to the UK I’ll update you on my angling adventures, but in this instalment, I want to show you some of the other awesome marine creatures that populate Floridian Waters. Not only are these creatures amazing, but what I find incredible is that I’ve captured many of these fantastic creatures from a mooring placed a short distance from my accommodation!

Five years ago I made my first trip to Florida and its Keys and I have been hooked ever since. Each and every time I visit, I’m not only stunned at the quantity and quality of the fishing but I stand in awe of the Floridian wildlife, the states unique marine eco system, and the laws in place to protect it! Even though I love my tropical angling (especially for Tarpon – that’s why I’m here in the Keys), I am a dedicated UK angler through and through – coarse and sea, afloat and on land - when I’m in the Keys, it strikes me that something is missing from UK angling... Fish Protection!

It’s a shame to say but unlike our Yankee pals, in most areas of the UK we have no (and that’s a big NO) measures in force to protect our species of fish and safeguard their future, except for commercial minimum landing size limits that are...well, a joke!

Now I’m not going to bang on too much about what we do or don’t need back home in the UK, but I’m going to highlight some of the simple conservation measures in place in the Florida Keys, and how they could simply be adapted and applied to our own waters. I’ll leave you to ponder what conservation laws we actually need and what our fishing would be like if we had them, but one thing is for certain – doing nothing isn’t an option. As each year ticks away, our fishing doesn’t get any better!

• Protected species - These are species that are protected by law and must be returned to the water in good health. Our sharks, from smoothies to tope, to blues and big porbeagles, would be a good example of UK species that need protection, as they really have greater sporting values than commercial ones. You can also add conger to the list as well!

Loads of sharks and conger sounds good to me!

• Slot sizes. These are upper and lower size limits, decided by marine biologists through scientific research, within which fish may be taken for the table. The lower limit of each species guarantees it reaches sexual maturity and breeds while the upper and larger limit guarantees big specimen sized fish, which all anglers seek to catch. These bigger fish are worth a large amount of money to a sport fishery and are returned to be caught again. Some UK species that would benefit from slot sizes include bass, cod, rays, bream and flatfish.

Lots of prime fish and plenty of big ones sounds pretty good too!

• Bag Limits. These are exactly what they say – a bag limit of how many of each species you can take, if you’re not commercially licensed. Now I know there are some arguments from boat owners about whether this is necessary, but let’s face it, some greedy anglers ruin it for many. Bag limits (sensible ones) do avoid any doubt. Slot sized fish like bass, cod and bream would also have bag limits. Species that damage on retrieval from depth, like pollack and ling, would also benefit from bag limits. Florida’s bag limits vary from 1 to roughly 10 per species, per angler, per day, on all prime species depending on what they are.

I think I could be happy with 2 turbot, 3 bass, a handful of pollack and 10 bream per day – leaving more fish to catch another day! If lucky, that’s a lot of fish for a week’s fishing.

• Unprotected species. Species with no size or bag limits are classed as unprotected. This would include all baitfish and smaller species that are thriving in numbers. Species like mackerel, sand eels, doggies, herring, pouting, whiting, etc.

Bait restrictions would not be good!

• No commercial take zones (angling reserves). Again, these are exactly as they say – areas where fish cannot be commercially harvested. SMALL areas that have a greater angling value than commercial value could be dedicated to angling only. Every area and every port has at least one famous angling beach, reef or bank. Imagine if that one area was for angling only – just that one area - perhaps one for every 20 miles of coast. Or even artificial reefs? It could be akin to having a tennis court to play tennis on or a football pitch to play football on – an actual angling area to go angling on!

It would be great to fish without a trawler passing in front of you or arriving in your boat to find the area plastered in nets! If only! Local angling businesses would clearly benefit too!

• Closed Seasons. Each and every species has a specific area and time of year when they shoal up to breed. On average this is only for a couple of months but unfortunately this is when the most commercial damage is done to each species. If fishing for each prime specie (both commercially and for sport) was banned, for say, just the middle of each species breeding period, imagine how many fish, rowed up, would survive to complete breeding!

Makes sense!

• Licensing & Policing. In Florida, if you don’t buy a fishing licence, you will be breaking the law and can be arrested. Inspections are quite frequent by enforcement officers. In reality there aren’t many patrols but they patrol miles of coast with high speed boats and the threat is regular enough. Florida licences are reasonably priced and a lot of the income generated goes back into fish stocks, marine habitat, including artificial reefs, promoting angling and policing Florida fisheries. I’m sure some is probably a tax too but the benefits of the licence can be clearly seen in the quality of Florida angling, how it’s protected and how it is promoted to the world.

Licence revenue, if put back into angling, does work. The threat of patrols and immediate arrest is clearly enough to deter most illegal activity.

Many years ago, when Florida implemented its conservation and general fishery laws (www.flordiaconservation.org) its fishing was suffering from commercial pressure, and some species were nearly extinct! Look at it now. It didn’t happen overnight.

The reality is, one day, we will probably have a licence and that day probably isn’t that far away. The sad thing is, the monies created from that licence will probably get swallowed up in too many chiefs, political correctness, red tape and administration and not a policed, sensibly managed, sustainable fishery. One thing is for certain – with what we have in place now, our fishing is never going to get any better, only worse! I do wonder what fishing my kids will have...

For the record: My stances on conservation, licences and laws are...
...I’m not ‘Ban the Bomb’, believing that every fish should be returned and we should use rubber hooks – I eat fish! But at the same time, I cannot come to grips with a fishery - on a small - over populated piece of land - where there is no law or even any unwritten rules - and anybody can take any fish - in reality - as long as it’s over a few millimetres! I also believe nothing comes for free! I hope one day we do have a governed and thriving fishery, but I’m not a betting man!

Before I finish there is one thing that puzzles me. I’m a course angler as well as a sea angler and, as a course angler, my licence fees go back into fish stocks, management, habitat, promotion and policing (and obviously some tax).     
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/fish/246986/?version=1&lang=_e

Maybe I’m stupid and missing something, but why couldn’t the EA head up a division for sea angling? Isn’t the environment their job?

Jimbo in his element, crusing around inshore.

Dolphins in the lagoon...

Iguana Boat Security!

That'll be a Manatee that wants its tummy rubbed!

A turtle the size of a car bonet!

Sharing breakfast with a Pelican...