June 30, 2010

Fishing ban in Gulf of Mexico again expanded

Grouper and snapper fishing will be among the hardest hit by the expanded closure of federal Gulf of Mexico waters east to Cape San Blas, but near-shore fishing in state waters, including the harvesting of scallops and oysters remains largely open.

Under the new fishery boundary enacted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Monday evening (June 28), more than 80,000 square miles, or about one third of federal fishing grounds in the Gulf have been closed because of concerns over the impact to seafood from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

"The (deep-sea fishermen) were limited to these areas that are now closed," said Franklin County Seafood Workers Association President Taunya James. "Now they really have nowhere to go."

Since the April explosion that caused the oil spill, NOAA has closed, and in some cases reopened, federal waters to fishing. But James said she does not expect the latest closure to be lifted anytime soon. "I don't foresee it being lifted right away," she said, citing reports from fishermen in the waters far off the coast. "Twenty miles out of Port St. Joe it's there, the oil is there."

Federal waters begin about 10 miles from shore. Of the near-shore state waters, only one 23-mile stretch from the Alabama border to Pensacola has been closed, said FWC spokesman Lee Schlesinger. The rest remain open.

"We are going to be real surgical with closures and do what is necessary to protect people from getting sick," he said.

Right now, he said, the state's open waters are safe, and he knows of no plans at this time to issue further state closures beyond the one in the far northwest Panhandle.

James said most of Franklin County's oystermen are working. About 100 boats are on the bay now, she said, and the biggest concern at the moment is being caused by the rush to harvest in advance of the encroaching oil.

"It's done damage to our oyster beds because they are taking everything," she added.