Would Florida rock shrimp trawlers damage protected Oculina Bank coral reef?
Shrimpers are seeking permission to trawl along the federally protected Oculina Bank, which Treasure Coast conservationists say will cause lasting damage to the unique coral reef  found nowhere else on the planet. Federal fishery managers will vote on the request Thursday and are seeking public comment on the controversial issue until 4 p.m. Wednesday. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is likely to approve the request, 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. 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  Approval would allow rock shrimp trawlers to pull nets along the seafloor on the eastern boundary of the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern, which ranges from Fort Pierce north to St. Augustine, according to the proposal. 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 said. "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." Scroll down for information on how to submit public comment. The bank is an expansive ecosystem of ivory tree coral, called oculina, whose mounds stretch up to 100 feet tall in water as deep as 300 feet. Reed has spent decades leading the charge to protect the fragile ecosystem. "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," Reed told TCPalm Tuesday. "This is a unique community that occurs nowhere else." Shrimpers say they need to be allowed to fish where they once did to make a living. About 20 vessels, most based in the Titusville area, were permitted to harvest rock shrimp from the Atlantic in 2015-19, with eight dealers purchasing their catch, according to the South Atlantic council records. Scroll down to read Reed's letter to the council. Among those with deep connections to that fishing industry is Laurilee Thompson, owner of the Dixie Crossroads seafood restaurant in Titusville, home of the rock shrimp, and member of the South Atlantic council's deepwater shrimp advisory panel. Her father, Rodney, was known as the "Daddy of the rock shrimp industry" and helped introduce the seafood across the state. "We fished there for a long, long time," Thompson said of the reef system. "We'd like to be able to continue to fish there." As a clean-water advocate for the Indian River Lagoon, Thompson said she also understands conservationists' objections to the proposal. "I can understand the shrimpers' desire to be able to fish where they historically had fished," Thompson said. "But I can also understand the desire to protect that transitional area." The proposed trawling area contains 29% muddy sediment on the seafloor, which could be stirred up and blanket the reef, Reed said. Weights on the bottom of a general shrimp trawl 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 they'd trawl parallel to the reef and claim the sediment would float back down to the seafloor without making its way to the corals. 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. Anker, who helped establish the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, said she urged 400 alliance members to weigh in on the council's public comment period. "The (shrimping) industrys trawling creates sedimentation that is destructive to corals, even if it occurs next to and not right on top of the corals," the alliance wrote its members. The reef faces more danger from polluted stormwater runoff flowing into the ocean from nearby cities than it does from commercial fishing, Thompson said. "In my opinion, sewage from South Florida has much more of a dangerous impact on the Oculina reef than allowing a few rock shrimp boats to go back to trawling where they once used to fish," she said. A rule change is a lengthy process  The proposal comes on the heels of a Trump-era executive order to reopen protected areas closed to commercial fishers and remove many fishing regulations. The "lengthy" process to change the rules begins with Thursday's vote by the South Atlantic council's habitat committee, spokesperson Kim Iverson said. After that, a vote is taken by the 13 council members, who oversee conservation and management of fish stocks in the Atlantic from North Carolina to Key West. Members include commercial and recreational fishers and government officials from agencies such as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. If the council approves the proposal, the National Marine Fisheries Service begins its review process. If that agency approves, the U.S. Department of Commerce must give final approval, according to Iverson. More often than not, its years, Iverson said of the process. How you can submit public comment  Register to watch the webinar at register.gotowebinar.com/register/4049457759372649999. Register to provide public comment at safmc.wufoo.com/forms/mm6cio00x6jk33. The number of people who sign up will determine how much time each gets to speak during the public comment period that begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to the council. For more news, follow Max Chesnes on Twitter. 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. Read more of Max's stories.