[June 13, 2009] More protection for bonefish?: FWC considers change to rules for the species Tweet Jun 13, 2009 (Florida Keys Keynoter - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Bonefish are just too valuable to waste, say fishing advocates. "Bonefish are a resource we need to protect, and we have not been minding the store," said Jerry Ault, a University of Miami expert in fish populations. Staff biologists with the state Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will make a presentation on bonefish to the FWC board at its Thursday meeting in Crystal River. On the table: Making it a no-take species, with possible exceptions. "We have been asking for the state to essentially make bonefish a catch-and-release species," said Aaron Adams, a researcher and director of operations for the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. Bonefish are stealthy, fast-swimming fish that are challenging to catch. A study by Ault's UM research team calculates that a single bonefish may generate $3,600 to the Florida economy in a year from recreational interests, and up to $75,000 over the fish's natural lifespan of 20 or more years. Florida has an estimated bonefish population of 300,000 to 321,000, mostly limited to the Florida Keys and Biscayne Bay shallows, according to reports. While an annual census taken by the Trust indicates the bonefish population has not significantly changed in recent years, Ault and Adams said that may be misleading. "The old-timers say [the bonefish population] is nothing like it used to be," Ault said. "It may only be 5 percent of what it was." Declines in habitat and prey species are significant concerns, along with accidental or intentional harvest of bonefish, Ault said. "There's a pervasive attitude that everything is OK because most bonefish are released," he said. "That's kind of a false belief." Florida law now prohibits commercial sale of bonefish, and limits anglers to keeping one fish over 18 inches long per day. The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust -- members include many flats-fishing legends, along with noted Keys anglers and guides -- will ask for the daily limit of one fish to be stricken. In coming months, if the FWC board approves, a series of statewide workshops would be held to consider revising bonefish regulations. Possible variations might allow a bonefish to be kept for record consideration, or requiring a bonefish tag similar to the $50 per-fish tag now required for harvesting a tarpon, Adams said. "About 70 percent of the world records on bonefish were made in the Florida Keys," Ault said. "People come from all over to world to go bonefishing in South Florida. This is a heritage that needs to be preserved." Since there are no federal regulations on bonefish, the FWC also may consider extending state law into adjacent federal waters (allowable under the Magnuson-Stevens Act). In other items of Keys interest at the FWC's Crystal River meeting: --Rules on snook may be clarified to tighten regulations on out-of-season possession of snook. No changes on bag or size limits are on the table. --FWC board members will consider lowering the daily bag limit for shallow-water grouper in the Gulf of Mexico to four fish to conform to federal regulations. --An emergency closure of red snapper, tracking a federal rule, will be considered. To see more of the Keynoter, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.keysnet.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]