The Marine life fishery in Florida, 1990-98

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

Allowable gear restrictions regulate the use of nets (hand held, barrier, and drop), trawls, and slurp guns (FAC Online(11)). Barrier nets cannot exceed 60 feet in length, have a depth greater than 8 feet, and a mesh larger than 3/4 inch. Drop nets are also restricted to a mesh size of 3/4 inch and maximum dimension of 12 feet. Trawls, which can only be used to collect dwarf seahorses, must be a towed by a vessel no longer than 15 feet (and at no greater than idle speed) with an opening no larger than 12 inches by 48 inches. Quinaldine (2-methylquinoline, CAS No. 91-63-4), a chemical used to briefly anesthetize fish and facilitate their capture, may be used only if the individual has a special activity license issued by the FFWCC (Rule 62R-4.004).

Finally, all collected marine life must be harvested live and the vessel must contain a continuously circulating live well, aeration, or oxygenation system (FAC Online(12)). Species may be collected from all state waters, excluding the U.S. Department of Interior's Biscayne National Park (unless permission is obtained from the park superintendent), and adjacent Federal waters (FAC Online(13)). Harvest limits apply to species collected from all areas.

Data and Methods

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), formerly known as the Department of Natural Resources, has been collecting data on the harvest of live marine ornamental products since 1990. The Marine Fisheries Information System is the data collection program maintained by the FDER These data are maintained and analyzed by the Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI). Prior to 1990, landings data were collected only from individuals holding quinaldine permits. Given that the pre 1990 data exclude invertebrates, prices, and the harvest of fish without chemical use, these data are not analyzed in this report. All data described in this report were obtained from FMRI.(14)

The FDEP requires licensed wholesale dealers (i.e. buyers) to report dealer and harvester (collector) license numbers, the location of harvest, the species and quantity purchased, and the value of each transaction by species (Chapter 62R-5). Since these transactions typically occur immediately following the trip, these forms are referred to as "trip tickets." In the case of live marine ornamentals, the majority of collectors are also dealers that inventory product for a period of time before selling (Larkin and Degner, 2001). Thus, the trip ticket information most aptly reflects the total revenue received by harvesters for specimens that survive to the first point of sale. In addition, landings that are not sold, bartered, or exchanged (i.e. harvested for commercial use) are excluded from the data set.

The trip tickets also allow the collector to report the size of individual specimens collected (e.g. small, medium, large) since there are size limits for some species. The size information is, however, not mandatory and is frequently unreported. Due to the scope of the data considered in this description (i.e. given the number of species, years, seasons, and areas), species size information is not incorporated into this analysis. It is important to note, however, that the size of wild-caught ornamental fish will vary depending on species, season, location, and sex of the fish. These factors can also "affect specific characteristics of the fish, such as color. For many species, size and color differences translate into price differences.