Our efforts are paying off

Last December 10th, 2009 the FWC gave their approval to a draft rule to provide full protective status for lemon sharks in the State waters. If all goes well, the finial vote to make it regulatory will take place at their next meeting this February 2010. Once in, lemon sharks will be off limits to harvesting by both commercial and recreational fishing for good in Florida waters.

More on this is posted on Safe Safe Network’s blog site - http://www.sharksafe.blogspot.com/

In addition to the sharks, we can also relay that the FWC still maintains Goliath groupers will remain off limits to harvesting, in spite of what the Gulf Council thought they were going to get, as well as we managed to remind just how bad fish traps are, further maintaining their stance that these things will never be re-allowed in state waters, as well sending letter to the Gulf Council that they SHOULD do the same.

This would not have been possible without the combine efforts and support from:

Dr. Gruber and his research team, the Shark Foundation (http://www.shark.ch), Shark Safe Network (http://www.sharksafenetwork.com/), Oceanic Defense (http://www.oceanicdefense.org/), Shark Savers (http://www.sharksavers.org/), Reef Relief and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org/).

Also in attendance at commission meetings were members of both the recreational fishing and diving community, where we had the much appreciated support of local dive operators like Jim Abernethy (http://www.scuba-adventures.com), Emerald Charters (http://www.emeraldcharters.com/) and Jupiter Dive Center (http://www.jupiterdivecenter.com/).

Proving, when just a few people put their mind to it, positive strides can be made for marine conservation.

Wonderful news Walt! Thanks for fighting the good fight, and keeping us posted.

Steve

Proving, when just a few people put their mind to it, positive strides can be made for marine conservation.

Congrats Walt and well done. Great news. Sometimes it seems like such an uphill battle/tilting at windmills and it is is good to see results from efforts....

Great news ...

Much kudo's to all involved ...

Dive safe

DeanB

Great news ...

 

Much kudo's to all involved ...

 

Dive safe

 

DeanB

Agreed.

It is official

February 18, 2010: FWC acts to protect lemon sharks

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a rule Thursday to prohibit all recreational and commercial harvest of lemon sharks from Florida waters. The FWC took this action to protect lemon sharks, because they have a high potential to be overharvested.

Lemon sharks are often found near shore in shallow water, especially in Southeast Florida, where they aggregate in large numbers each year. This makes them easy to locate and raises the potential for large numbers of lemon sharks to be removed from the population with minimal effort by fishermen.

Lemon sharks also are susceptible to overharvest because of their life history characteristics. They are slow-growing, reaching sexual maturity at 12-15 years of age, and have a low reproductive potential, producing 6 to 18 pups per litter every second or third year. Juvenile lemon sharks experience a mortality of 40-60 percent.

Recently, some preliminary data from an ongoing tagging study found that at least 7.5 percent of tagged adult lemon sharks from a Southeast Florida aggregation succumbed to fishing mortality in one season. At that rate, the entire lemon shark aggregation could be harvested in a few years.

In addition, recent regulatory actions for other shark species might put more fishing pressure on lemon sharks in Florida waters, where 90 percent of known lemon shark aggregations occur. The harvest of lemon sharks will still be allowed in offshore federal waters adjacent to state waters.

Healthy lemon shark populations are especially important to Florida’s dive charter industry which provides ecotourism trips to see lemon shark aggregations in the winter months.

The FWC’s lemon shark rule takes effect on March 23. More information about recent shark-management actions http://www.myfwc.com/RULESANDREGS/Saltwate...ions_Sharks.htm is available online at MyFWC.com/Rules, click on “Fishing – Saltwater.”

It is official

Really great news, March 23 will be a good day...

Congrats!

Walt-

Thanks to you as well as all the other "star throwers" for making a difference with these recent hard-fought victories:

The Star Thrower

A man was walking along a beach where thousands of starfish had been washed up on the shore. He noticed a boy picking the starfish one by one and gently throwing them back into the sea.

The man observed the boy for a few minutes and then asked what he was doing. The boy replied that he was returning the starfish to the water, otherwise they would die under the sun while the tide was going out.

The man asked how saving a few, when so many were doomed, would make any difference whatsoever? After listening politely, the boy picked up a starfish and threw it back into the surf and said "Made a difference for that one."

The man left the boy and went home, troubled with what the boy had said. The next morning he returned to the beach and spent the rest of the day helping the boy throw starfish into the sea.

~ adapted from "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley

Great news and congratulations to all involved.

Thanks ebonites, love the story.

Here is to more news like this

Karen

ebonites,

That adaption from "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley is a great example to how just one can start the process to make a difference with others picking up the reigns to continue it.

If you truly believe in something do it.

If you are going to do it, then do it well, or at least to the best of your abilities.