Send a letter to the National Park Service demanding that they implement Biscayne National Park's working group's recommendations that did not include fishing closures.
The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to incorporate marine reserves (no-take fishing zones), as well as recreational use permits, in Biscayne National Park (BNP), located south of Miami, Fla., as part of the park's updated General Management Plan.
The NPS is including the no-take fishing zones over the recommendations of a Biscayne National Park working group which did not include marine reserves in its review of the park. The BNP working group represented recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, divers, scientists and environmental groups. In addition, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) says that marine reserves are overly restrictive and that less restrictive management measures should be implemented before considering marine reserves.
No fishing zones should be implemented as a last resort and only when less severe conservation measures, such as gear restrictions, possession limits, size restriction, quotas, closed seasons and law enforcement can't adequately address the targeted conservation problem.
To comment on the National Park Services' Biscayne National Park Fisheries Management Plan proposal, click here. We encourage you to let your thoughts be known to ensure that fishing and boating remain viable activities in Biscayne National Park. Below is a draft letter you may copy and paste into the form. Comments are due by October 6, so act now to protect your right to fish! For more information, visit www.KeepAmericaFishing.org.
PLEASE SEND IN YOUR COMMENTS TODAY!
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?parkID=353&projectID=23587&documentId=25004
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear National Park Service representative:
As an avid angler who enjoys Biscayne National Park (BNP), I am writing to strongly request that the National Park Service avoid closing any portion of the park to fishing or boating under the new Fisheries Management Plan (FMP). While I fully support the goal of boosting fish stocks in the park, I believe there are other measures that can be as effective, if not more effective, than marine reserves while still maintaining public access to public resources.
Rather than closures, the park's resources should continue to be made available to the recreational fisherman and boater. Resources can be protected and fisheries increased through better management practices, most of which have not been tried. For example, there are many less severe conservation measures, such as gear restrictions, possession limits, size restriction, quotas, or closed seasons that may adequately achieve the targeted rejuvenation of fish populations.
In addition, it is of significant concern to me that option 4 is the park's preferred alternative since it includes many draconian options. While BNP officials state that closures to fishing will be a last resort, the options do not include guidelines to determine when it is time to limit recreational use of the park. Therefore, the public is left in the dark as to what criteria will be used to determine whether closures are "necessary."
Recreational use permits will also present a significant management problem, both for the park and the park user, and it is unclear how they will benefit the park. Because of inadequate detail in the working draft, it is impossible to determine whether the permit system exists only to penalize recreational boaters and fishermen and further limit access to the park overall.
Ultimately, regulations are only as successful as the level of enforcement they are under. The biggest problem facing resources in BNP is lack of enforcement of current regulations. Without first addressing this problem, additional regulations will only further restrict law-abiding citizens from enjoying the park while doing nothing to address those that break the rules.
Finally, the NPS should incorporate the recommendations of the Task Force coordinated by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which did not include closures as an option. The Task Force, comprised of commercial and recreational fishermen, divers, scientists and representatives of environmental groups appears to have been ignored by BNP officials. It should be evaluated by the BNP for any options that provide a more balanced approach to fisheries management than the use of marine reserves.
In conclusion, I urge the NPS to reject any management alternative that prohibits or severely restricts an established recreational activity, particularly recreational boating and fishing, without a sound site-specific scientific basis, and until other less restrictive management strategies have proved to be ineffective.
Sincerely,
