February 8, 2007 Issue

I have a recurring vision of a father and his children on the back deck at Harbor Docks on a late, dreary afternoon. The father is telling his children: “I can remember when boats used to dock here and unload fish.”

I am afraid that that day is not far off.

Generally in the business world, when you have access to something in short supply and heavy demand, it is a key to success. That is what makes things valuable whether it be real estate or diamonds. For whatever reason, this supply and demand theory has rarely applied to seafood.

There appears to be no end in sight for the ranchers who raise cattle or for the farmers who raise pigs or chickens. Prime beef, 2 percent of all butchered cows, is extremely expensive. Fresh seafood has always been a bargain. A plate of broiled red snapper should cost $60 based on its availability. The end for fishermen, and the fish that they work so hard to catch, appears to be right around the corner.

Our local fishermen, both commercial and charter, are facing the battle of their lives. And these are people who have had to battle constantly to pursue their trade. As if weather and fuel prices and tourism fluctuations were not enough of an adversary, they now must fight against their own government to continue a trade that is as admirable and as traditional as any.

The looming restrictions for the red snapper fishery may do what hurricanes, expensive diesel fuel, insurance, the importation of mislabeled foreign seafood products, and the recreational boating industry could not accomplish. The government sanctions could very likely put nearly all of our charter and commercial fishermen out of business.

The three categories of fishermen on the Gulf coast are commercial (people who catch fish to be sold at market), charter (boats for hire that take from six to 100 passengers for primarily catch and keep fishing) and recreational (weekend warriors or monkey boats catching fish for personal consumption or for sport).

Commercial fishing is already almost a thing of the past. Net fishing was banned nearly a decade ago. Boats involved in hook and line fishing and long-liners have steadily decreased in numbers over the same period of time.

These days, in addition to knowing how to catch fish, a commercial or charter boat owner must be well versed in complicated legal matters, statistics, and meticulous record keeping. The reason most of these men became fishermen is because they didn’t like people telling them what to do. They are independent by nature and are accustomed to solving their own problems whether it is a bad impeller or faulty electronics. The regulations they now have to follow are so confusing and illogical no one should be expected to understand them.

The Gulf Council is apprised of representatives from the states that border the Gulf of Mexico. That council reports to National Marine Fisheries. All regulations regarding fisheries in the Gulf are based on the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which requires challenged fisheries be brought back to health by 2010. It also requires potentially challenged species to be restored to healthy populations by 2011.

The problem is the regulations that must be enforced to accomplish healthy fish stocks, will deal a deathblow to charter and commercial fishermen. By the time the stocks are declared healthy there will be no one (except for recreational anglers) left to catch them. Some charter boat fishermen might outlast one bleak season. Very few of them can hold out for years.

According to Kelly Windes, of Destin and Bob Zales, of Panama City the biggest problem with the current assessment of red snapper stocks in the Gulf is that the National Marine Fisheries uses computer models no one can understand. And, like most government programs, there is no room for common sense. When it comes to management of Gulf fisheries my money is on Capt. Windes and Capt. Zales to know a little bit more of the history and current health of the red snapper population than a bureaucrat at his desk in Washington, D.C.

Fishermen are an independent breed of people. Few groups could be harder to organize. They are used to being self-sufficient. Until one of their own needs help they usually fend for themselves. No issue except for the looming restrictions on red snapper has caused them to organize and prepare to defend their livelihood with such defiance.

The category of fishermen that has most affected the Gulf fisheries is the recreational angler. Recreational boaters, with an array of sophisticated electronics available to them (GPS devices and fathometers), have had a huge effect on stocks of grouper, snapper, triggerfish, and amberjack. The ubiquitous boat storage facilities along the coast of Florida indicate the burgeoning number of recreational fishermen in our state.

It is rare to have an industry disappear within a generation. It has almost happened to the independent farmers of our country. And now, with an assist from our government, it is happening to the commercial fishermen.

My children grew up fishing the waters that surround Destin. For them, making a living in the fishing industry won’t be an option.

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