Economic Impact Reef Building and Saltwater Fishing in the State of Florida Presented April 22,2008 By: Candy Hansard Candy@valp.net
Three Issues • Economic Impact and the need to Save Artificial Reef Building in Florida • Need to streamline the ACOE Permitting Process to promote more Artificial Reef Building off our coast • Economic Impact of Recreational Fishing and the need for Responsible and Accountable Management of our Fishery
Artificial Reefs give taxpayers a good return on their investment! • In 2003, over $400 Million Dollars were spent on Goods and Services directly tied to the Recreational use of Artificial Reefs in the Florida Panhandle from Pensacola to Panama City* • This Created over 8 Thousand Jobs* • These jobs represented over $84 Million in Salaries Paid to Florida Residents!* *Source: “Creating Marine Habitat The Artificial Reef” DVD 2003 Produced by: Florida Fish & Wildlife and Reef Fish Restoration
Artificial REEFS are Good for our Economy and our Fishery! According to a study done by the University of West Florida, The sinking of the Oriskany brought 2 Million Dollars to Escambia Co. in the first year after deployment. 1.2 Million was spent on Dive Trips alone! It is also credited with Millions of Dollars worth of Media Coverage!
Benefits of Private Reef Building • Provides Habitat for Fish • Helps to create a Sustainable Fishery • Reduces Fishing Pressure on Public Reefs • Reduces Conflicts between the Charter Boats and Private Recreational Fishermen • Private Reefs Experience less pressure; therefore, the fish inhabiting these reefs have a better chance of survival. • Helps improve our Economy! • Improves Fishery at NO Cost to Taxpayers
Effectiveness of Chicken Transfer Cages as Artificial Reef Systems This Photo was taken November 8, 2007 by Keith Mille FWC, 9 months and 2 days after this 1/8” Steel Chicken Coop Reef was deployed. This photo alone indicates the effectiveness of Chicken Coops to provide habitat for a diverse population of Recreationally targeted species. Notice the Abundance of Red Snappers on this very young reef system!
More Evidence of Effectiveness This Reef is only 9 months old. Photo by Keith Mille FWC Again, Snappers as far as the eye can see!
Evidence of Diversity on Chicken Coop Reefs Deployed in Destin
Stability of Chicken Coop Reefs Historical Documentation *They are in the tidal area and are in and out of water with the tide. They were deployed in October 1992 and are still in excellent condition. (*Cindy Halsey)
Importance of Artificial Reefs in Improving the Fishery • The Majority of underwater landscape off the coast of Northwest Florida is Barren Sandy Bottom. AKA “The Wet Desert” • In Northwest Florida, less than 5% of the underwater surface is Natural Hard Bottom.* • Without Artificial Reefs, there would be very few fish in the Florida Panhandle. • Please keep in mind that prior to deploying the reefs showcased in this presentation, there was no structure at this location to support these recreationally important fish & other sea life. (Sandy Bottom to Habitat in a Splash!) *FWC “Creating Marine Habitat The Artificial Reef.” 2003
Artificial Reefs are the only proven method of improving the fishery and our economy. A disproportionate amount of taxpayer money has been spent creating multiple “assumption based” reports that conclude the need for Government Regulations to improve the health of our fishery. Only a small fraction of taxpayers money spent on our fishery is allocated to Artificial Reef Building. More Reefs = More Fish = Healthier Economy Please Support & Fund Artificial Reef Building!
Jacksonville District ARMY Corps of Engineers Proposal Increase Steel thickness requirement for Artificial Reefs from 1/8 th” to ½” If implemented, this requirement, will effectively Kill Private Artificial Reef Building Efforts by the Charter Boats, Private Rec. Fishermen & Non-Profit Organizations. It will drive up the cost of Publicly funded reefs if our government can even find any vessels that meet the requirement! Barges - 3/8 th ” thick when they’re brand new! Many Sections of the Oriskany would not have passed the ½” Req.
We need More Permitted Areas! • In Order for Florida to be able to continue to attract fishermen to our coastline, we need more permitted areas to build Artificial Reefs. • Our current permitted areas are not big enough to meet the needs of NW Florida’s Recreational Fishing industry. • Alabama is quickly gaining a Reputation for having the best fishing on the Gulf Coast. This is hurting Florida’s Economy as we lose tourists to Alabama.
Okaloosa County LAARS Permitted Sites 3 LAARS Permitted sites that include 221.7 Sq Miles of Permitted Areas open to Private Artificial Reef Building.
Escambia County LAARS Permitted Area Sites These 2 areas combined total 120 Square Miles of Permitted Drop Zones open to Private Artificial Reef Building.
Bay County LAARS Permitted Sites LAARS Permit sites encompass a total sea floor area of 123.13 square miles open to Private Artificial Reef Building.
Alabama’s Permitted Sites Alabama’s extremely small coastline enjoys 1,260 square Miles of Permitted area open to private Reef Building!
Compare Coastlines The Mobile District of the Army Corps of Engineers has Granted Alabama approximately 1260 sq. miles of Permitted area open to Private Reef Building. In comparison, The Jacksonville District of the ACOE which controls permitting in the Florida Panhandle has only granted 464.83 square miles of permitted areas Alabama = 1,260 Square Miles open to Private Artificial Reef Building for the Entire Florida Panhandle = entire Florida Panhandle. 464.83 Sq. Miles
Same Federal Agency Different Districts Why is Florida so far Behind? We know reefs help our fishery and our economy so why aren’t we permitting more Area and encouraging more Private Reef Building and funding more Public Reefs?
Economic Effects Saltwater Fishing in the State of Florida
Statistics are from the “2006 National survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife Associated Recreation” Published by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Page 27 “ In Thousands of Dollars…” In 2006, Saltwater Fishing pumped $2,443,801,000.00 Dollars into Florida’s Economy! Yes, that’s almost $2.5 Billion in 2006! We must protect our Fishery & Economy. Building Artificial Reefs helps our Fishery & Economy!
Economic Impact of Saltwater Fishing in the State of Florida Saltwater Fishing has a Tremendous Impact on the Health of Florida’s Economy . We should be sure that Decisions that have the potential to impact our Fishery and Economy are Based on Verifiable Data!
This Data affects our Economy & Fishery! Aug. 2007 - Proceedings of the Marine Recreational “The National Research Council Information Initiative Operations Team Workshop. Review of Recreational Fisheries Gulf States Marine Fishery Commission & Survey Methods (NRC Review) Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. noted that the designs, sampling strategies and collection methods do not provide adequate data for management decisions.” “Data do not provide the level of resolution required by managers and stock assessment scientists and catch and effort estimates may be biased because sampling designs are based on unverified assumptions .”
Data our Fishery Management used to justify our Red Snapper Rules! SEDAR 7 GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER “The benchmarks are dependent on the assumed effort allocation…” “Note benchmarks have been calculated and projections have been done, assuming that recruitment is equal to the average base case estimates from 1984- 2003.” “The RW noted that although there were periods of time when there was good sampling coverage from a range of sources and fisheries, this was generally not the rule for Red Snapper (e.g., patchy age data with missing years.)”
Florida’s Red Snapper Regulation Background Information • In February 2008, The FFWCC, at a public meeting, listened to testimonies of hundreds of Florida Residents. • The bulk of the Testimonies stated that the Red Snapper Fishery was healthy in our area and the potential devastating effect a shortened season would have on our economy. (Video evidence of the health of our Red Snapper Fishery was provided to the Commission.) • The FFWCC voted to keep the Current State Water Red Snapper Season and to cut the Recreational bag limit by 50%. • The FFWCC acted in the best interest of Florida and our Fishery by considering the Best available Fishery Information to make their well received decision. Florida Fishermen Support Responsible Fishery Management
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