The Marine life fishery in Florida, 1990-98

Marine Fisheries Review, Wntr, 2003 by Sherry L. Larkin, Charles M. Adams

Introduction

Tropical fish-keeping is the second most popular hobby after photography in the United States (PIJAC, 1999). More importantly, interest in home aquaria continues to grow. Industry growth has been especially prevalent for the establishment of "artificial reef" aquariums, which require colonization by invertebrates (Loiselle and Baensch, 1995), due to recent technological advances and breakthroughs in the care of such species. Marine aquariums in particular rely primarily on live specimens (fish and invertebrates such as plants, live rock(1), live sand(2), and crustaceans) collected from the wild. This is because only about a dozen marine ornamental fish species are cultured commercially (Larkin and Degner, 2001). In the United States, the collection of marine ornamental species is restricted primarily to south Florida and Hawaii.

The marine life industry in Florida, as defined by the Florida Administrative Code (FAC), pertains to the nonlethal harvest of saltwater fish, invertebrates, and plants for commercial purposes (FAC Online(3)), primarily as ornamentals for the aquarium market. Products are landed live and sold to wholesalers, retailers, or direct to individual aquarium owners. Some products, such as sand dollars (family Mellitidae), are dried and destined for the shell/curio market. The vast majority of products, however, are destined for the hobby aquaria industry (PIJAC, 1999). Florida accounts for 95% of U.S. production (collection and culture) of tropical fish (saltwater and freshwater) (Watson and Shireman, 1996).

The State of Florida instituted a comprehensive data collection program, the Marine Fisheries Information System, in 1985 (FAC Online(4)). The data resulting from this system are commonly called "trip ticket" data, because the program requires that all landings of saltwater products intended for sale, barter, or trade be reported on a trip-level basis. The collection of trip ticket data for marine life began in 1990. Assessment of individual species and fishing effort are necessary to determine whether existing regulations are likely to be effective at maintaining the sustainability of the resources. To date, however, the data for marine ornamental species have not been studied.

Specifically, a thorough analysis of the marine ornamental species landings and effort data would aid in the development and analysis of regulatory options. For example, the current moratorium in Florida on entrants into the marine ornamental species fishery until 2005, could produce a variety of economically beneficial effects by eliminating myopic fishing behavior. Short-ran harvest decisions can produce a disregard for other fishermen, recreational divers, reef health, mortality rates, optimal harvest sizes, seasonal demand, etc. that can lower revenues. However, a moratorium cannot control fishing effort or participation rates (e.g. number of active fishermen). And, given the diversity of species collected, such a generic program could neglect the protection of species of specific concern. Moreover, the designation of 1997 as the "International Year of the Reef' brought international attention to the marine life collection industry. According to the World Resources Institute (WRI, 1998), nearly all reefs of the Florida Keys are at a moderate threat from human activities, including the overfishing of target species. In addition,

    "At a minimum, over fishing
    results in shifts in fish size, abundance,
    and species composition
    within reef communities. Evidence
    suggests that removal of key
    herbivore and predator species
    may ultimately affect large-scale
    ecosystem changes. For example,
    removal of triggerfish has been
    linked with explosions in burrowing
    urchin populations, their prey,
    who subsequently accelerate reef
    erosion through feeding activities."
    (WRI, 1998:1).

To fill an informational gap that is needed for effective regulatory analysis, this paper summarizes the data collected by the State of Florida on 1) the harvest of live marine specimens for commercial use and 2) the participation by licensed and permitted fishermen. Following an overview of the regulatory environment, a description of the landings distinguishes between fish and invertebrates and, in particular, identifies statistics for live rock and live sand (which are reported in pounds rather than numbers).

In general, numbers of invertebrates landed greatly exceeds the number of fish landed. This is because, for example, hundreds of small snails can be harvested with a single scoop of a bucket. This harvesting method contrasts with the capture of fish species, which often requires diving gear and the use of slurp guns or nets to harvest an individual specimen. Another reason for distinguishing between fish and invertebrates is that fish prices per unit are, in general, higher.

Within the fish and invertebrate groups, data are summarized by common names. This decision was made in order to reduce the scope of the analysis since over 320 different species were landed during the study period. Furthermore, landings volume and value, average prices, and trip-level catch rates and revenue are only presented for the ten most valuable fish and invertebrate species groups, which are aggregated by common name.