Dear Fellow Commercial Fishermen,
Today, more than ever, fishermen throughtout the industry need to be united in our efforts to protect our livelihoods. The threats of our way of life are numerous and far-reaching. Fuel costs, loss of working waterfronts, the lengthy recession and the threat of contamination from the world's largest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will all play a part in the future of our businesses. However, none of these issues gives as much cause for concern as the stroke of a pen in Washington, DC by federal fisheries managers and government legislators.
Heavily financed environmental groups, brandishing their own agendas and refusing to cooperate with the fishing industry, have permeated every echelon of federal fisheries management. The result has brought havoc to the industry with numerous closures of huge sectors of the Atlantic Ocean to all types of fishing; the concept of 'Catch Share' programs being forced on unwilling participants; extreme and unwarranted gear restrictions severely limiting traditional methods.
Over the years, members of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen's Association have served on countless committees and federal advisory panels and worked hand-in-hand with county, state and federal governments to bring balance and fair and impartial industry representation. We continue to do so at every level because appropriate representation is an important part of the cost of doing business in complex times and dealing with complex issues.
In addition to fisheries management FKCFA takes an active role in our community and we focus our efforts on both short and long term benefits for our members with scholarship programs, seafood festivals, grant funding for special projects, educational programs, environmental responsibility through trap design studies and trap cleanup programs. We also work diligently with law-enforcement to protect permit holders from poaching and other forms of thievery accounting for as much as 10% of the annual income of legal fisheries harvesters.
Please give serious consideration to renewing your membership or becoming a new member of FKCFA. Together, we have a future, divided, we do not.
Sincerely,
Karl Lessard, President
Bill Kelly, Executive Director
Our Mission
1. Organize the Florida Keys fishermen into an effective lobby to protect and promote the fishing industry
2. Encourage laws that protect the fishing industry of South Florida while improving its sustainability.
3. Advance the science of fishing through cooperative research.
4. Partner with all other community associations working toward sustaining the fishing community.
5. Work with the county, state and Federal agencies to minimize the negative impact of regulations on fishermen while improving the conservation of marine resources
The Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen's Association (FKCFA) Board of Directors is confident about the future of Monroe County's marine resources, and the industry continues to cooperate on efforts to improve them. From a management perspective, we can assure the public that the county has a growing and sustainable seafood industry.
The Florida Keys is surrounded by a seafood gold mine, and over the last two decades, the county has maintained its spot as one of the top 10 most valuable ports in the nation. With 360 federally permitted fishing boats, the Florida Keys are home to the largest commercial fleet from Texas to North Carolina. Over 80 percent of the spiny lobster harvested in the state of Florida is caught in Monroe County, making commercial fishing the county's second primary industry.
The commercial fleet supports about 1,200 families, which is close to 5 percent of the county's population. Stock Island alone lands 7 million pounds with a dockside value of $24 million — that's 5 percent of Florida's total landings and 13 percent of total value.
In 2006, Monroe County was ranked the fifth most valuable port in the nation, with a dockside value of about $54.4 million. This figure does not include retail sales and profits made by wholesalers who marketed seafood products worldwide. It's reasonable to predict that seafood and related industries earned upwards of $70 million. This does not take into account the millions of dollars of shrimp caught off Key West and landed at other ports around the Gulf of Mexico. The face of the shrimping industry has changed, with many ice boats being upgraded to freezer boats, some capable of fishing up to three months, that return to their respective Gulf ports.
The downward trend in pounds landed and numbers of fishermen is part of a natural progression that occurs when a largely unregulated industry begins to be regulated. Although there is a downward trend in the number of active licenses and pounds of product landed, it would be too simple to suggest that commercial fishing is a "dying" industry. Regulations were only introduced in the past 20 years, and many were needed to address overfishing and to rebuild stocks. In terms of poundage, the fleet's last seven years have been more productive than the '80s, but marginally less productive than the '90s.
Historically, Monroe County has had the biggest fishing fleet in the southeastern United States, so some consolidation is inevitable. Downward trends are also due to a variety of factors such as more stringent regulations, increased operating costs, competition with imported products, variable weather patterns/hurricanes and loss of commercial waterfront.
Seafood is a renewable natural resource. Every year, our fleet harvests responsible amounts of seafood, which allows for stocks to rebuild themselves. Most of our commercially important species are not overfished, including shrimp, lobster, stone crab, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, red grouper, and mangrove, yellowtail and mutton snappers. In addition, 80 percent of our commercial fisheries have been recognized as "environmentally responsible" by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Marketing Program. FKCFA is also championing an effort to define "sustainable fishing practices" that will conserve habitat and stocks for future generations.
These facts confirm that Monroe County's commercial fishing community is a significant part of our economy. Aside from the money that it generates, our commercial fleet is one of the last standing symbols of this county's heritage.
FKCFA can assure the county's citizens, and its commercial fleet, that our seafood industry is not "dying." On the contrary, it is a dependable and renewable industry.
