Chairman Barreto / on letter about Skyway Pier.

[Flatsrunner]

Just received a email from FWC in regards to the December meeting which the SSP  issues were brought up and stated that there will several more meetings in the future to address the brown pelican issues. I'm thinking that I commented on their web site that they included  me on the email list. I don't know how to post that link up here, Hopefully someone will.

[carlf]

I got it as well. We’ll see what happens.

[carlf]

The Skyway Pier is an important resource in the Tampa Bay area. It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, with up to 200,000 visitors annually making it among the most frequented fishing piers in the state. Skyway Pier’s height and length allow for angling opportunities that are rarely found in other parts of the state. Concurrently, there are several important seabird rookeries located near the pier.

Fishing-line entanglement of seabirds, primarily brown pelicans, has been occurring at Skyway Pier for many years. Despite past actions and educational programs to address the issue, the frequency of entanglements resulting in severe injury or death of seabirds is increasing.

It is the Commission’s duty to ensure responsible recreation and enjoyment of Florida’s wildlife and fishery resources while minimizing the likelihood of severe harm these activities may pose to wildlife. At the December Commission meeting, the Commission asked staff to increase stakeholder engagement on this issue and bring draft rules and other actions to the February Commission meeting.

FWC staff has been actively working to find the balance between supporting popular recreational fishing activity and reducing severe entanglement and harm to pelicans and other seabirds at the Skyway Fishing Pier State Park. To bring the best collaborative solution to the Commission, it is critical that staff has participation from all interested parties.

Over the next few months, there will be multiple opportunities for your input and engagement to determine a suitable course of action that will address this complex issue. We ask our management partners, anglers, pelican rescue organizations, and other interested stakeholders to come to the table and work together to develop a solution for pelicans and anglers.

Sincerely,

Rodney Barreto
Chairman

[fishsci]

Barreto wrote: "the frequency of entanglements resulting in severe injury or death of seabirds is increasing." I doubt that FWC has real evidence of that. However, now that he has said it, FWC will almost surely be obliged to take some actions. He also wrote: 'the Commission asked staff to increase stakeholder engagement on this issue and bring draft rules and other actions to the February Commission meeting."

The combination of these two almost surely means that some rules/actions will be implemented. So members should be very active to make sure that those rules are really needed and that they do not greatly diminish fishing opportunity.

Banning of treble hooks is one action that almost everyone can support (except maybe a few who fish for gag by drifting out and retrieving diving plugs).

Banning sabiki rigs for bait, however, is one that would greatly damage fishing, leaving the only way to catch bait fish using cast nets (and cast nets tend to attract birds when the catch is shaken out of the net onto the pavement. However, banning larger sabiki rigs (or rigs with more than two hooks) that are used to catch silver trout and such (particularly at the N pier) might be justifiable.

My suggestion offered previously, is that baitfish sabikis be allowed, but only if they have very small hooks (less that equivalent to No.8 in English size, plus mainline no more than say 6-lb and branch line no heaver than 4-lb, would still allow fishermen to catch bait, but result in little or no damage to pelicans because the birds could break away from being snagged by the rig to their roosting sites. At least that option should be tried and studied before completely banning sabiki bait rigs.

[Flatsrunner]

Someone stated in a earlier reply a while back, if they tear down the old unusable sections of the skyway it would force the birds to rest somewhere else between feedings, It would also make great reef structure and hopefully deter some pelican entanglements. Perhaps part of the parks revenue could go towards that project.

[fishfinderbill]

I must say I agree with the comments made on this post. Tiny light weight sabikis will catch all the bait a fisher person will need. Besides it gives the kids the thrill of catching fish. I also agree that tearing down the unused portion of the pier, do it in the winter time, would make sea birds roost somewhere else and give the pier another near by rock pile.