Biologist in FL condemns "serial overfishing" in area,makes cool analogy to how if a serial killer of HUMANS was at work in the area,it would be big news,while genocidal decimation of entire fish species,is totally ignored & dismissed by media
Joe1orbit
Not really a lot to comment on here, just a COOL quote by am insightful
biologist, and since he specifically uses the term "serial killer", I can't
resist posting it. The FACT is, fish ARE morally superior life forms, all they
want to do in life is STEER CLEAR of the EVIL species known as humans, and yet
humans choose to go OUT of their way to SEEK fish out, for GENOCIDAL mass
murder.
Says biologist/professir Jerry, of the mass harvesting of fish in Florida:
"If a serial killer were loose in the Keys it would be big news. What's
happening here is even more insidious - it's serial overfishing." I like that
phrase, "serial overfishing", although the problem is that it implies that
FISHING itself, in "moderation", is a perfectly moral and legitimate activity
for society to legalize and promote, even though it involves MASS murder, AND
it IS practiced as a SPORT, so the INVALID & ridiculous argument that fish are
only murdered because they are "needed for food", cannot even be made.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of yesterday's Associated Press news wire:
Dry Tortugas No-fish zone Backed
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK, Fla. (AP) - More than 200 species of fish and
hundreds of different corals and sponges lie over a vast area beneath the
waters around the Dry Tortugas islands south of the Florida peninsula.
Researchers are spending a lot of time on the ocean floor counting and
measuring them - one by one. They say snapper, grouper and shrimp are being
overfished in an area that's a rich breeding ground for the species and they
will recommend a 200-square-mile area be closed to all fishing.
``If a serial killer were loose in the Keys it would be big news. What's
happening here is even more insidious - it's serial overfishing,'' said Jerry
Ault, a biologist and University of Miami associate professor.
Many who earn their living fishing the area are skeptical. While they say they
favor measures that will increase fish populations, they're not so sure closing
the area is the answer.
Peter Bacle, who owns Stock Island Lobster Co. and fishes the Tortugas for
lobster, stone crab, snapper and grouper, fears that taking that much ocean
from fishermen - roughly a third of the Tortugas - is a step toward eliminating
all commercial fishing in the area.
``This is not the thing that eliminates commercial fishing for good - it's
another bite. It's a large bite, but it probably in itself will not be the bite
that kills,'' he said. ``They're taking it away piece by piece.''
Researchers from Miami and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington are
working with agencies that manage the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
and the Dry Tortugas National Park to determine what areas should be off-limits
to fishing.
Commercial fishermen are already banned from 132 square miles of Tortugas
waters. Recreational fishermen would also be banned from more than 50 square
miles, under the proposal. Also, nearly 200 square miles of the
3,674-square-mile marine sanctuary would be off-limits to all fishing.
``The point is not to hurt commercial fishing or recreation fishing, the point
is ensuring fish population and ensuring a habitat that can support a diverse
marine life,'' said Cheva Heck, community outreach coordinator for the Florida
Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
The number and size of sought-after fish are down considerably in the area,
Ault said. Grouper, for example, are down 5 percent to 10 percent of their
historical population, he said. That's particularly a concern because the water
is where the fish spawn and then repopulate the rest of the waters around the
Keys and South Florida.
``The Tortugas is really the United States' last remaining marine frontier,''
said Ault. ``If we don't take care of this area, this area is going to go down
the tubes.''
The idea is to pick from the Tortugas' 600 square miles the best spots to
protect. The National Park Service and the marine sanctuary will likely put the
no-fish zone in place in early fall, Ault said.
Response from fishermen has been cold to tepid. Some want no areas protected,
others admit something should be done, but are wary of the proposal.
``We're suspect and we're suspicious because we have a reason to be,'' said
Greg DiDomenico, director of Monroe County Commercial Fishermen Inc. He said it
will be difficult to prove that a no-fish zone works, especially since water
quality, weather and other factors can affect fish populations.
He said how fishermen react to the proposal also depends on where they tend to
fish.
``I've tried to sit down with individual fishermen and grab the charts and show
them exactly where the areas are and that's made them more upset or less upset,
depending on the fisherman,'' DiDomenico said.
But even those that don't fish in the proposed no-fish zone should be worried,
said Bacle.
``The fishermen that work primarily in that area, now it means all of them have
to go into areas where other people are working. Now we have heavier stress in
those areas,'' he said. ``It will probably lessen each man's catch and cause
friction between fishermen.''
Andy Griffiths, who runs three-day fishing excursions to the Tortugas, has
mixed feelings about the proposed no-fish zone.
``Setting aside an area for protection is not a bad idea. I can't trash it
altogether,'' said Griffiths, who was part of a group that worked with
officials as they drew up the plan.
But it will hurt anyone who fishes the Tortugas, especially commercial
fishermen, he said.
``You can't put people out of business on an idea that might make a difference.
You've got to be sure,'' he said. ``I'm impacted, but not to the degree of
someone who's laying traps on that bottom or putting lines on the bottom to
catch fish for sale.''
He would like to see the government buy out fishermen or allow them to continue
fishing the area until they retire, then close out their permits.
``This doesn't have to happen in 2000. Tortugas has been there for a long time.
... We could do it a little better if we can do it a little slower.''
Heck said she understands the concerns, but said the marine sanctuary is
managed under the U.S. Department of Commerce, which will not deliberately
drive fishermen out of business.
``When people's livelihood is at stake, there's a lot of fear,'' she said,
adding that the fear commercial fishing will end is unfounded. ``That is
something that it's safe to say you will never see - not in a national marine
sanctuary.''
Still, Bacle tells his 18-year-old son to go to college before following five
generations of fishermen out to sea.
``He's been at the fish house his whole life and he's been on the boats and
that's what he loves,'' he said. ``I'm doing everything I can to get him to go
to college first and then come back to commercial fishing, if it's still there,
but I want him to have something to fall back on.''
AP-NY-07-31-00
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