SNAPPER TRAPPER

We will be having a membership drive at the West Marine on Davis HWY this Saturday October the 6th from 9o to 12:00 if anyone would like to join the membership is 35.00 per year. Get involved build as many artificial reefs as you desire or just simply support the people who deploy habitat.

Hope to see you there.

Death From Above

I was just checking out your website. Are you guys really advocatingroping off 5 X 5 square mile blocks of public gulf waters for 10 years at a time to grow fish?

Aufishtic

I think it would be awesome to have a area that fish could reproduce with out any pressure on them. Any Federal or State hunting land and some privateland that I have been on haveareas that are restricted just for this purpose. If it works on land I bet it will work in the water. Especially if it is a area that is nothing but sand and it becomes habitat everyone would be a winner.

X-Shark

It would be 2.5mi X 2 to = 5sq mi. The area we "want" to put it on has nothing but sand bottom and close in so that it can be policed.



Your numbers [5 X 5] would = 25sq mi. these a LOT of difference.

AUBuilder

5 sq miles aint much in the gulf.Doubt anyone would miss it for the period it was closed.Would yall survey the area to verify there were no private reefs in the area? It might be a sticky situation if someones secret honey hole happened to get overlooked and then fell inside the restricted area.

Just curious.

X-Shark

That would be part of the plan, BUT if they have a spot there it is illegal and I drought they will bitch and really tell anyone, as the fine could be heavy.

Death From Above

[quote]X-Shark (10/8/2007)It would be 2.5mi X 2 to = 5sq mi. The area we "want" to put it on has nothing but sand bottom and close in so that it can be policed.

Your numbers [5 X 5] would = 25sq mi. these a LOT of difference. [/quote

Would any fishing be allowed in the block (i.e. trolling)? How about diving? Would boats be allowed to pass through it? Who is going to police it?

JoeZ

The idea behind this is already in practice in many areas in Florida as well worldwide.

It's a Marine Protected Area (MPA) designated as a no-take zone. You could dive it but not shoot. You can motor through it but you may not posses fish while doing so. But if you were smart, you'd troll th hell out of the outside of it because there are no fences underwater and this place would be a king magnet.

It would be positioned so as not to interfere with the main traffic routes to and from existing fishing spots.

Ideally, the FWC or USCG would police it because it would be within sight of Pensacola Pass. Some grants provide money for policing as well as video surveilance.

There would be no natural bottom areas impacted in this zone unlike any similar area that could (and likely will) be forced on us by the federal government. They would just as soon take the Paradise Hole, Greens and 86 as well as part of the Edge and declare it off limits -- and good luck getting it back from them in 5 to 10 years.

If anyone is interesting in discussing it or any other project the RFRA has going please give us a call at 455-6465 or shoot me a PM and I'll give you my number.



All the great plans in the world won't get much done without support from those they were designed to help.

Death From Above

I think organized reef building/replenishing is a great idea, however, I personally don't like the idea of sanctuariesand especially hate the idea of federal government involvement. They screw everything up! I can see blocks of Gulf declared "National Marine Wildlife Sanctuaries" that never get to be fished again.

Aufishtic

DFA this is why we are trying to make a man-made area so that they hopefully will not take some of the live bottoms.