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As you may be aware, the Florida Fish & Wildlife
Commission (FWC) is under pressure by fishing groups to lift a 25+ year
moratorium on the harvest of the Goliath Grouper in Florida. In an effort to
capture the opinions of all diving stakeholders on this issue, DEMA
conducted a survey of divers and dive professionals asking their opinions on
maintaining the Florida Goliath Grouper harvest moratorium. The results
showed that by a large percent, respondents want to maintain the moratorium.
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With these survey results in, DEMA submitted a letter
expressing the desire that a moratorium on harvesting the Goliath Grouper in
Florida be maintained, as there is no scientific data indicating that this
fish population has recovered from severe over fishing. Fishers continue to
blame the increased population of Goliath on lower populations of lobster,
snapper and other fish species. In fact, there is no data to indicate that
Goliaths are the cause of these issues. In addition, Goliath Grouper are
known to contain toxic levels of mercury, making the flesh inedible.
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Share your input and learn more about the current status of
Goliath Grouper by attending one of the FWC's upcoming public workshops.
Workshops will be from 5 to 8
p.m. local time:
Aug 16: Pensacola, Sanders
Beach - Corinne Jones Resource Center, 913 South I St.
Aug. 17: Panama City, Bland Conference Center, 4750 Collegiate Drive. Oct. 9: Jacksonville, Pablo Creek Regional Library, 13295 Beach Blvd. Oct. 10: Titusville, American Police Hall of Fame & Museum, 6350 Horizon Drive. Oct. 11: Stuart, Flagler Place, 201 SW Flagler Ave. Oct. 12: Davie, Old Davie School Historical Museum, 6650 Griffin Road. Oct. 16: Pinellas Park, Bill Jackson's Shop for Adventure, 9501 U.S. Highway 19 N. Oct. 17: Port Charlotte, The Cultural Center of Charlotte County, 2280 Aaron St. Oct. 18: Naples, Collier County Public Library - South Regional, 8065 Lely Cultural Parkway
If you cannot attend an in-person meeting, please submit
comments online.
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