Will Oculina Bank coral reef open to rock shrimp trawling?
A federal fisheries management panel Friday agreed to wait until September to discuss whether to allow Florida rock shrimpers to trawl alongside the protected Oculina Bank coral reef. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's habitat committee decided it needs more time to evaluate and discuss whether the rock shrimp industry should be allowed to fish once again along the deep water reef that stretches nearly 150 miles from Fort Pierce to St. Augustine. The vote is just the first step in a lengthy process that could take years to complete, according to council spokesperson Kim Iverson. Comments Friday by Jessica McCawley, council member and Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries Management with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, indicated the process to evaluate the re-opening began as early as 2012 with a "promise" from since-retired NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region Director Roy Crabtree to work with shrimpers on expanding fishing grounds. Lophelia reefs: South Atlantic council projects deep-sea corals  Reef mapping: Harbor Branch uses first-of-their-kind submersibles  Eve Samples: We must protect Bathtub Beach reef  The council will vote on the committee's recommendation at its next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 13-17, according to Iverson. The council's 13 members include commercial and recreational anglers and government officials from each state fishery agency between Florida and North Carolina. If the proposal gets the council's thumbs up, then it must be approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 1984, the deep-water Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern became the world's first sanctuary of its kind. The oculina reef  found nowhere else on this planet  stretches roughly 300 square miles, but researchers in 2011 discovered another 300 square miles that remain unprotected. The coral grows about a half-inch a year and can stretch 100 feet tall in water as deep as 300 feet. The mounds can be as large as a Volkswagen and older than 100 years. The reef is home to:  230 species of mollusks  50 species of crustaceans  70 species of fish, including economically important fish for recreational and commercial fishers such as gag grouper, snowy grouper and red snapper. The proposed trawling area contains 29% muddy sediment on the seafloor, which could be stirred up and blanket the reef, said John Reed, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce who helped discover the reef in 1975. Weights on the bottom of a net, which are meant to stay open to entrap shrimp, can penetrate nearly 6 inches into the seafloor, according to University of Miami research. Shrimpers say sand would sink to the seafloor as they trawl parallel to the reef, but surface currents can be drastically different than seafloor currents, Reed said. "There's no way the trawlers can know the current conditions on the bottom," Reed wrote to the South Atlantic council in a letter dated June 11. There are 26 rock shrimp permit-holders in Florida, and between 2015-2019 only 19 of those fished actively for rock shrimp selling to eight seafood dealers. According to data from the NOAA Fisheries records:  Before the area was closed to the rock shrimp fishery, shrimpers trawled along the east side of the existing boundary. Rock shrimping in that area accounted for 1.76% of the industry's total haul from 2013-14, according to South Atlantic council records. Under the proposal to allow fishing along the reef, trawlers would drag nets along the seafloor in an area measuring about 20-30 square miles roughly 16 miles offshore of St. Lucie, Indian River and Brevard counties. Marine biologists say that can rake the fragile ivory tree coral or blanket it in stirred-up sediment. Even the smallest grains of sand can bury polyps, reduce sunlight and spread bacteria, according to council records. Dredging operations can stir up sand particles in the water column and send them floating as far as a half-mile away and, in extreme cases, affect water quality up to 12 miles away, according to council records. Council considers lifting protections  Allowing fishing in the area would chip away at 45 years of protections. This is a timeline of reef protections:  1975: Harbor Branch researchers discover the coral reef. Harbor Branch researchers discover the coral reef. 1984: A 92-square-mile section of the southern reef was closed to rock shrimp trawling, becoming the nation's first Marine Protected Area. A 92-square-mile section of the southern reef was closed to rock shrimp trawling, becoming the nation's first Marine Protected Area. 1994: The protected area was closed to all bottom fishing, based on evidence the corals were slowly growing back. The protected area was closed to all bottom fishing, based on evidence the corals were slowly growing back. 2000: The protected area was extended to encompass the northern half of the reef. The Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie County is among the environmental nonprofits lobbying against the proposal. "I think it would be disastrous," President Shari Anker told TCPalm Tuesday. "Everything is so fragile. We have a marine protected area that's supposed to be a preserve, and they're chipping away at what is already established as protected." Lobbying for the reef's protection has been Reed's life's work. "We have the opportunity to try to protect this and let it grow back, and it won't happen if it keeps getting impacted by chopping down its borders," he said this week. Wednesday evening, there was an open public comment period allowing respondents to address any of the more than 20 agenda items on the SAFMC meeting docket this week. Of 81 total public comments filed, 35 voiced opposition to opening the area to rock shrimp fishing. Zero were in favor of it. Judy Orcutt, a recreational angler from Vero Beach wants to see the area kept closed to shrimp trawling. "Please preserve the last remaining Oculina Coral Reef! This reef is extremely important to nursery fish. With the demise of so many reef systems throughout the world, it is extremely important to set aside areas that are off limits to destructive fishing practices," Orcutt wrote. To read all the public comments, go to SAFMC.wufoo.com/reports/2021-june-council-meeting-public-comment-report. Rock shrimp industry wants access  The proposal comes on the heels of a Trump-era executive order to reopen protected areas closed to commercial fishing and remove many fishing regulations. Shrimpers say they need access for their livelihoods. Industry leader Laurilee Thompson said she sees both sides of the issue. She owns Dixie Crossroads, a seafood restaurant in Titusville  "home of the rock shrimp"  and is an Indian River Lagoon clean-water advocate and member of the South Atlantic council's deepwater shrimp advisory panel. "We fished there for a long, long time. We'd like to be able to continue to fish there," said Thompson, whose father, Rodney, was known as the "Daddy of the rock shrimp industry." He helped introduce the seafood across the state. "I can understand the shrimpers' desire to be able to fish where they historically had fished," she said. "But I can also understand the desire to protect that transitional area." Rock shrimp are known for their unique, strong flavor. They have very thick outer shells so are difficult to peel, instead requiring the shell to be split down the middle in order to get at the meat. Presently, according to Wild Ocean Seafood in Titusville, rock shrimp cost up to $29 per pound cleaned and split. At Dixie Crossroads restaurant in Titusville, they are served several different ways broiled, fried and in dishes like scampi and pasta. To read the briefing book document council members used to consider the rule change, go to SAFMC.net/Habitat. TCPalm outdoors columnist Ed Killer contributed to this article. Max Chesnes is a TCPalm environment reporter covering issues facing the Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie River and Lake Okeechobee. You can keep up with Max on Twitter @MaxChesnes, email him at max.chesnes@tcpalm.com and give him a call at 772-978-2224.