Read the complete Fishery Bulletin here

Since the middle of June, NOAA’s data has shown no oil in the area and trajectory models show that the area is at low risk for future exposure.  They have also shown no detectable oil or dispersant odors in the samples that have been tested.

This is great news for our local fishermen and for the Florida Keys! Read the full fishery bulletin here.

(Click on map to enlarge)

Capt. Marlin Scott and Andy Newman of the Tourist Development Council of the Florida Keys talk about the Gulf Coast Oil Spill and the fact that there is no oil in the Florida Keys and what a beautiful summer it is turning out to be. The Florida Keys encourages visitors to come and enjoy the fishing, diving and boating here.  To learn more about the Florida Keys and to get current updates, go to www.Fla-Keys.com

We’ll keep you up to date right here with current accurate information.  So without further adieu, here, in pictures, is our depiction of what it is really like here in the Florida Keys.  We hope to see you soon!

We would love to have you help us show the world that life is still beautiful in the Florida Keys,
Add your pictures to our photo collage by clicking here.
*Be sure to say where and when you took them.*

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, in addition to causing a tragic loss of life, is also posing a severe threat to the Gulf’s marine fishery and sportfishing industry.  At this point, no one can say for sure what the extent of the impact will be.  But what we do know for sure is that the Gulf of Mexico has over six million recreational anglers that contribute $41 billion dollars a year to the local businesses that support the industry.

We also know for sure that the fish kill is going to be catastophic, and with our already tight fishing regulations, we know that you are all sitting on pins and needles awaiting the fate of the fishery and your livelyhoods so we’ve put together this information in hopes of giving you a good place to go for up to date information.

Recent News

State Information

Closures

Contact Information

Press Releases

Photos and Images

How to File a Claim

Quick Links

MEDIA CONTACT:
Shannon Colavecchio, Director(850) 224-0174
shannonc@moore-pr.com

VICTORY AGAINST BP IN LOUISIANA COURTS EXTENDED TO FLORIDA, NATION

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL (May 4, 2010)—After an emergency hearing in federal court, British Petroleum entered a consent agreement that affirms the legal rights of any U.S. citizen helping with cleanup efforts related to the DEEPWATER HORIZON catastrophe.

On Sunday, the U.S. District Court Eastern District heard Louisiana’s fishermen claim that they were not bound by offensive language in work agreements signed to participate in cleanup and mitigation efforts organized by BP. This consent agreement applies the same protections to any U.S. citizen, said Attorney Stuart Smith on behalf of the Gulf Oil Disaster Recovery Group (GODRG) legal team.

“A fisherman who cannot fish because of the pollution and who entered into a contract to help clean up BPs mess was required to forfeit or minimize his right to make a claim for losses related to the explosion and resultant oil spill,” said co-counsel Calvin Fayard. “This may have been a shrewd tactic on BP’s part, although its counsel argued it was a mistake. The outcome should protect some the rights of those whose livelihoods are most impacted by this incident.”

The consent agreement protects fishermen’s existing and future rights and potential legal claims. Attorney Jim Garner explained the offensive language in forms which BP required workers to sign that is now “null and void”:

- BP, which is mandated to take 100 percent responsibility for the oil clean-up, demanded that the volunteers INDEMNIFY IT for any accidents that might occur from the volunteers’ efforts (Art. 13(F));

- BP demanded that the volunteers WAIVE their First Amendment  constitutional free speech rights about the volunteer’s participation in the clean-up efforts of the disaster; for example, if a commercial fisherman signed this agreement he or she could not then speak to anyone about the disaster or clean-up efforts until BP first “approves” of what the volunteer wants to say (Art. 22);

- BP demanded a FREE-RIDE on the volunteers’ insurance policies so that if there is damage to a volunteer’s vessel or other injuries, such as to a crew member, BP will be an “additional insured” and the financial responsibility for the damage will rest on the volunteer’s insurance carrier, NOT BP; quite obviously, the volunteers paid good money for this insurance and BP should not be allowed after-the-fact to worm their way into that contract so that it can attempt to avoid further legal responsibility for the very volunteers it is asking for aid and assistance; (Art. 13(A)); and

- BP demanded 30 days of notice before any volunteer is allowed to pursue legal claims against BP, and there are no exceptions made for emergencies (Art. 13(I) [sic (G]).

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Gulf Oil Disaster Recovery Group Legal Team:

Smith Stag, LLC
New Orleans, LA

Liska, Exnicios & Nungeser
New Orleans, LA

Jones, Swanson, Huddell & Garrison, L.L.C.
New Orleans, LA

Krupnick, Campbell, Malone, Buser
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

LawCo USA
Washington, DC

Bilek Law Firm
Houston, TX

Kuykendall & Associates
Fairhope, AL

Morris, Sakalarios & Blackwell, PLLC
Hattiesburg, MS

Lowe, Stein, Allweiss & Hauver
New Orleans, LA

Perrin Landry deLaunay Dartez & Ouellet
Lafayette, LA

Sacks & Westin
Jenkintown, PA

Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein McAlister & Hilbe
New Orleans, LA

About:
Stuart H. Smith of the law firm Smith Stag, LLC, New Orleans, Louisiana has assembled a working group of lawyers from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to prosecute claims for those who have been affected by BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  Commercial fishermen and shrimpers have filed a class-action lawsuit against BP and owners of the oil rig for economic losses stemming from the disaster.  The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, April 28 in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.  On Sunday, May 2, Judge Ginger Berrigan in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, after receipt of petition of Louisiana commercial fishermen, indicated the language in question in the Master Charter Agreement with BP was overbroad.  Legal counsel for BP agreed to enter into a stipulated judgment holding that the offensive provisions are without effect.

And during the past few days, Keys charterboat captains have reported significant catches.

In the Lower Keys, Captain Jim Sharpe on the Sea Boots reports plenty of dolphin in 300 to 500 feet of water. Sunday, Sharpe’s anglers caught 10 dolphin from 12 to 30 pounds.

On Monday, anglers on Captain Scott Stanczyk’s Catch 22 caught 40 dolphin from 10 to 20 pounds.

But the largest dolphin reported was a 58-pound bull caught off Key Largo, Saturday on the Fin Razer, with Captain Brandon Jiminez.

Anglers Jim Rosenthal of New York City and Mark Washburn of Washington, D.C., shared winding duties on the Penn 750 spinning outfit spooled with 20-pound line.

Jiminez spotted two frigate birds working an area in 450 to 500 feet of water, according to boat owner Greg Sosnow.

The big fish crashed a trolled blue-and-white Islander, but didn’t get hooked. Jiminez moved the boat closer to the birds and mate Randall Alexander ran to the bow with a spinning rod, spotted and pitched a dead ballyhoo to a 28-pound cow.

As the cow was being fought, the bull swam up and another ballyhoo was cast and the hook was successfully set. About 50 minutes later, the big fish was gaffed and brought aboard to join the caught cow.

More details on fishing in the Florida Keys are available at www.fla-keys.com/fishing.

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Anglers Mark Washburn of Washington, D.C. (left) and Jim Rosenthal (center) of New York City shared reeling duties to catch this 58-pound dolphin off Key Largo in the Florida Keys, Saturday, April 24, 2010. Mate Randall Alexander, right, gaffed the big bull on the Fin Razer, with Captain Brandon Jiminez. Photo courtesy Key Largo Fishing Adventures via the Florida Keys News Bureau.

Fishermen, marina operators, and charter boat captains rallied in Washington DC last week to protest what they call excessive fishing regulations that will be putting them out of work.

NOAA, the national Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, which enforces the Magnuson-Stevens Act has already closed some areas  and intends to close others to stop overfishing.

Many coastal communities have been negatively impacted by these closures since their primary economy depends on the fishing industry.  From fishermen to restaurants and other marine related business owners, they are all feeling the heat.

Not that anyone is interested in fishing any species into extinction, the problem is the data that is being used as the basis for these bans is flawed – “out of date and scientifically suspect” is how Rep. Henry Brown, R-South Carolina puts it.

Listen in as Capt. Marlin Scott of From the Water Show interviews Capt. Ralph Delph of Key West and get his take on this issue and how it affects our community.

Blue Marlin Courtesy Hemingways Resort - Watamu, Kenya

Dear Dianne,

Hope all is well with you.  Just thought I’d send in the following bit of info for you.

In the last week the fishing at Hemingways has started to trend towards the bigger fish.  We’ve had two large Blues on the line – one estimated at around 700 pounds and yesterday one that broke the line with the greatest of ease was estimated at a thousand pounds.  Both anglers are back out on the ocean today looking for a blue with a slightly sore mouth…

Overall the fishing is excellent with 53 Sail and 14 marlin tagged and released in the last 7 days; with two anglers succeeding in catching their first ever marlins.

We’ve got the Watamu Festival Competition this weekend and then on the 9th & 10th March we have the Friends of Kenya comp where the anglers head out for a straight 36 hours of fishing; 2 days and 1 night with extra points scored for the nighttime Broadbill.  Tight lines gentlemen!

Best regards,

Melinda

Melinda Rees
General Manager
Hemingways Resort
P. O. Box 120
Watamu, Kenya
Tel: 254-42-2332624

The South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (SAFMC) has now made major closures of snapper and grouper fisheries and has a proposal for a total closure of snapper for an undetermined amount of time, as well as a proposal to stop all bottom fishing  because of the potential that a snapper may be killed as by catch. The areas affected run from the Carolina to Key West and similar restrictions are being enacted in the Gulf.

In a cooperative effort the following clubs and organizations have joined forces to fight current and potential fishery closures dictated by the SAFMC as well as demand the science used to enact those closures be examined and fixed.

CFOA – Central Florida Offshore Anglers – Orlando, FL – www.centralfloridaoffshoreanglers.com
FSFA – Florida Sport Fishing Association – Merritt Island, FL – www.fsfaclub.org
HSFC – Halifax Sport Fishing Club, Daytona Beach, FL – www.hsfc.com
SISA – Sebastian Inlet Sport Fishing Assoc – Sebastian Fl – http://sites.google.com/site/fishsisa/Home
FCSC – Flagler County Sportfishing Club – Flagler County FL – http://www.fcsportfishing.com
Ft. Pierce Sportfishing Club – FPSC – www.ftpiercesportfishingclub.com
RFA – Recreational Fishing Alliance -  http://joinrfa.org
FRA – Fishing Rights Alliance – www.thefra.org
Deep Blue Sea Fishing – http://www.deep-blue-sea.org

Our members have fished and dived along the Florida East coast areas for many years and maintain a first hand knowledge of the health of the fishery. To be honest- where it was in decline 20 years ago, the current restrictions for minimum size and catch have worked to point where we believe the red snapper stock is healthier than it has been at any time in the last 25 years.

We contest the data being presented that shows the fishery to be in decline as being significantly flawed. And to be honest, as sportsmen, if we felt that the fishery was in trouble as we did many years ago, we would advocate new restrictions. These draconian measures are already having a catastrophic economical snowball effect in the State of Florida, from tourism dollars, to tackle and bait shops to charter Captains along with a degradation in the historical way of life for all involved.

But the biggest impact will be to our way of life as citizens of this country and what we support as our right to be able to go out and fish, have a good time and eat what we catch in a reasonable recreational sustainable fishery.

The petition calls for Congress to pass legislation to restrict the Commerce Department from enacting any further closures in the South Atlantic Region, and rescind the current interim closure of Red Snapper until fisheries managers improve the MRFSS system (data collection) and it passes a peer review.

WHAT can you do to help:

Go to this website- read the information and sign the electronic petition.

http://petition.deep-blue-sea.org

We appreciate you taking the time to read this, making an informed decision to sign the petition and passing it along to others that feel the same way.

Sincerely,
Ocean Minded Anglers of Florida

Dave, Capt TJ and Bill after a GREAT day on the water!

Great report we received out of Marathon today.  Nice catch guys!

“Thought you might enjoy these pics of Dave, myself Capt TJ in the middle and Bill. Took them jigging off of Marathon Saturday for tuna and they got their tuna the AJ that I normally don’t keep but they wanted something to smoke and the Queens, the AJ was 55.7 lbs and the larger Queen was 20.9 lbs . the best part was they were all caught on the jigs .”       -Capt. TJ Yzenas

In this podcast we talk to Garry Cullen from Hemingways Resort in Watamu, Kenya. One of the only places in the world where you can catch and release 5 different types of bill fish all in one day, they have every thing from Blue Marlin to Yellow Fin Tuna and on to Ruby Snapper, the sheer variety of game fish off Kenya is spectacular!  Garry tells us all about the experience you can have at Hemingways, whether you want to crank on some marlin or go on a safari adventure they’ve got what you’ve been looking for, listen in and learn what kind of experience you can have at Hemingways Resort in Watamu, Kenya.

. 

We are doing very well with the petition in the Northeast and Florida , but need to continue to get the word out, particularly on the West and Gulf Coasts and in the other Southeastern states. And we’d especially like to have more seafood sellers and restaurateurs represented. If you could tell your colleagues, friends, relatives or anyone with an interest in fishing who you deal with about this campaign and how important it is to the future of fishing in the US , it would help greatly.

The petition is at http://fs16.formsite.com/FixMagnusonNow/form793561462/.

The responses we’ve had are almost evenly split between recreational fishermen and folks whose jobs depend entirely or partly on fishing. It’s great to be able to be a part of a national effort that is being positively received by recreational, commercial and party/charter fishermen and the businesses they support, and with enough of us on board, it’s going to be a guarantee that the people in Washington will hear us.

While on the topic of Washington , if your Congressman or Congresswoman or your Senators aren’t co-sponsoring Senator Schumer’s or Congressman Pallone’s Flexibility bills, contact their offices and let them now how important their signing on is to you and their other fishing and fishing dependent constituents.

As President Obama indicated so clearly last night, it’s all about jobs, and to a large extent that’s what this campaign is all about. But it’s also about people having the freedom to fish and fisheries managers having the freedom to manage without the overly restrictive controls that have been bought and paid for by the so-called fisheries conservationists.

Thanks again,
Nils Stolpe
The Preserve Fishing Coalition

276 Billfish Caught on 22 Boats in 9 Days

January 16th – 24th, 2010 – The Kenyan waters are red hot at the moment with all three marlin species plus loads of sail being caught every day. Striped marlin in particular are around in large numbers but we are also seeing plenty of Blue and Blacks. Even the delicate task of catching billfish on fly is coming up trumps at the moment with several specialist fly fishermen catching a marlin on fly. Gai Cullen just became the first African female angler to catch a marlin on fly. Congratulations Gai!

News and photo provided by Melinda Rees of the Hemingway Resort in Kenya,  “At Hemingways Hotel here in Kenya, East Africa, we have a large big game fishing department and we are, we believe, a fantastic fishing destination.  We have had over 200 marlin tagged and released in the 7 days in this area and last Feb/March we had two confirmed Fantasy Slams – with two anglers being credited with a broadbill, sail, black, blue and
striped marlin in a single 24 hour period.”

No kidding!  Right outside of Key West on Calda Bank, a bomb!  Flats fisherman, Capt. Mike Bartlett was out fishing with his wife when they spotted it in the water. Back in the 1940′s and 50′s, the waters around Key West were used as practice bombing sites for the Naval Air Force .  Today you can still find bombs out there.  ”My wife sent the coordinates to the bomb guy at the sheriff’s office.  Hopefully we’ll get more info about the bomb’s history and if he and/or the Navy go to retrieve it or blow it up,” said Bartlett.

Thanks Capt. Mike for sharing this with us, we’re standing by for updates.

The 327 ft. US Coastguard cutter, the Ingham, has arrived in Key West to begin it’s new duty as a museum.  The ship, possibly the most decorated in the entire Coast Guard fleet has an exciting past and will be a really cool addition to our waterfront.

She has served in at least three wars and was instrumental as a search and rescue vessel during the Mariel Boat Lift in 1980.  Click here for the complete story.  She will be docked next to the USGC Mohawk, another floating museum down at the Truman Waterfront in Key West and should be open to the public in December.

Brothers, Hook and John Harmeling, avid offshore anglers who travel the world in search of billfish have joined forces with From the Water Magazine to bring you billfishing reports from around the world.  These two guys are totally obsessed with fishing the blue water for some pretty amazing fish.  You can look forward to regular reports from them showcasing their adventures and action in exotic locales such as Mozambique, Africa; the Great Barrier Reef in Australia; the Galapagos; the Canary Islands and even our very own Florida Keys.

First on their list is a countdown of the top ten billfisheries of the year.  Find out where the biggest and best catches happened.  Until then, head over to the Billfish Report and check out what happens when a 1300 lb. marlin gets “Sharked”!

Thanks guys for bringing us some incredible fishing news from around the world.  Welcome aboard!!

Follow the Billfish Report on Twitter.

One of the biggest challenges that we face today in both commercial and recreational fishing is the closures that are being implemented due to the Magnuson-Stevens Act.  The argument is that many fisheries are being closed due to faulty research.  On Monday’s radio show, Capt. Marlin Scott spoke with Capt. Rob Harris of Conchy Joe’s in Key West about what is going on and what we can do to get involved and protect our right to fish.  Capt. Rob sits on the SAFMC snapper-grouper advisory panel as a recreational advocate for Florida.

The Magnuson Stevens Act, originally designed to keep foreign interests from invading our waters and destroying our resources has evolved over the years into something that is now taking away our own ability to make a living on the water and even restricting the recreational fisherman from fishing our own waters.

Many people are only just now becoming aware of the freedoms that we are losing because of this Act and the impact that it will have on not only the commercial and charterfishering industry but also on the recreational fisherman.

In the podcast below, Capt. Marlin Scott talks with Capt. Mark Brown from Charleston, SC who testified last week before a natural resources subcommittee in Washington.  He explains in detail what it is, it’s impact and what we can do about it.  This is really an informative podcast and it’s about 13 min. long.  You can also download it from iTunes if you’re on the run.  You can find it under FishMonster Radio.

For more information go to the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) website.
To read the entire Magnuson Stevens Act for yourself, click here.

To reach Capt. Mark Brown go to www.charlestonfishing.net

Press Release

Thursday, 29 October 2009

For Immediate Release

The Destin fishing fleet is inviting all recreational fisherman to join us in an assembly of boats in the destin channel on Saturday, Nov. 7th starting at 10:00 AM. We are inviting the public and as much media coverage as we can get there.

We are protesting NMFS and NOAA total disregard National standards, emphasis on No. 4 and No. 8, disregard to improved data collecting,NMFS still using MRFSS to manage fisheries, total disregard of fisherman input on stocks, and stock assessments.

At about noon, after the assembly we going to meet at our Co-Op with food and drinks for all, inviting the public and media to hold a public forum on these issues.

We challenge all recreational fisherman, charter fisherman, harbors, hotels, tackle stores, chambers of commerce and all business connected to tourism up and down the US Coast from Texas to Maine, let your voices be heard far and wide that we are fed up with the way NMFS is being run, they are picking and choosing what MSA mandates they want to enforce and poorly run stock assessments and how it is ruining the lives of coastal families and communities.

109-479

(g) RECREATIONAL FISHERIES.—

(3) DATA COLLECTION.—

(A) IMPROVEMENT OF THE MARINE RECREATIONAL FISHERY

STATISTICS SURVEY.—Within 24 months after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Secretary, in consultation with representatives of the recreational fishing industry and experts in statistics, technology, and other appropriate fields, shall establish a program to improve the quality and accuracy of information generated by the Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey, with a goal of achieving acceptable accuracy and utility for each individual fishery.

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Capt. Mark Brown who testified in Washington on Tuesday will be on the “From the Water Show” tomorrow morning at 9:30am to lay out what we are all up against and what we can do about it.  “From the Water Show” airs locally on WFFG 1300AM and WKYZ 101.7FM from 7:00 – 10:00am or listen to it streaming on the internet at 10:30am (it’s an hour delayed).

We will also post the interview as a podcast that you can either find here on the magazine or on iTunes – just search for FishMonster Radio.

She was found by the Coast Guard, tangled in the crab trap line two miles off of Key West.  Her front flipper was badly damaged and had to be removed.  The hospital administrator, Ryan Butts says that turtles who have missing flippers have no problem surviving and even mating and laying eggs.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Monroe County Commissioner Mario Di Gennaro will help staff members from the hospital carry the turtle back into the ocean.  Everyone is invited to come and watch.  If you’d like to go, they will be at mile marker 40 on Little Duck Key at 3pm on Tuesday, September 8th.