Florida Permit Initiative

The BTT Florida Permit Initiative

Permit in Peril in Spawning Grounds

December 16, 2009

On December 10, 2009, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission met to review draft regulations on permit recommended by the FWC staff.  This detailed re-examination of permit rules resulted in part from BTT’s letters to FWC requesting improved regulations for this important fishery. Although some progress was made, BTT feels much more is needed to ensure effective long-term conservation of the fishery.  BTT is in this for the long-term, and will continue to work with FWC toward a more responsible management plan. Please read on for details on new regulations, BTT’s response, and BTT’s pro-active plans for the future.

The FWC Commission voted to follow staff recommendations, including:

• Allow spearfishing of permit greater than 20” in federal waters

• Allow the continued commercial harvest of permit 11-20” in length

• No spawning season closure

• Maintain current recreational bag limits:

- 6 fish per person per day for permit 11-20”

- 1 per person per day up to two per boat per day for permit greater than 20”

• After incorporating additional recommendations on African Pompano, the final recommendations for new regulations will be voted on in April, 2010

 

The Background

In Fall 2008, concerned about the lack of biological and fisheries information on permit (Trachinotus falcatus) in Florida, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust contacted FWC with a request to first make permit a gamefish (i.e., no commercial sale), and second to consider making permit a catch and release species.  BTT adheres to a proactive conservation strategy, and is concerned that the lack of a stock assessment on permit, significant shortcomings in fisheries data, and a general lack of information on permit biology leaves permit extremely vulnerable to overfishing. Without adequate data, the monitoring essential for effective conservation and management is not possible, and management response to overfishing will, by default, come after stocks have been depleted. That a notable portion of the harvest comes from aggregations on artificial reefs during spring through summer (spawning locations and season), heightens BTT’s concern. In addition, since permit is a U.S. treasure unique to Florida, and a quintessential economic and cultural part of Florida, BTT feels that permit deserves elevation to a level of special care and attention.

 

BTT Response to new regulations

Although an FWC-authored scientific paper states that “permit spawning stock biomass could decrease quickly in response to moderate levels of fishing mortality”, the new FWC regulations will fail to provide the fishery protections sought by BTT to prevent such a decline.  Specific recommendations for new regulations that are points of concern to BTT:

• Spawning season closure: FWC staff recommended no spawning season closure despite an FWC study published in 2002* which identified spawning season (peak: May-June) and habitats (over artificial reefs and reef promontories).  These findings were corroborated by studies of permit spawning in Cuba and Belize. In addition, harvest of fish from spawning aggregations vs during non-spawning times has different impacts on the stocks.

- FWC already has spawning season closures for numerous fish species, including snook, so a spawning season closure is not unprecedented.
- Harvest of spawning aggregations may expose permit populations to declines experienced by other species, such as Nassau grouper and mutton snapper.
- BTT believes a seasonal spawning season closure is warranted as a precautionary management step.

• Commercial Fishery: New regulations would allow for a trip limit of 250 pompano and 250 permit (500 fish total) between 11 and 20” in length. The lack of data on commercial harvest of permit is worrisome, given declines of other species that lacked fisheries harvest data. Moreover, the economic value of the recreational fishery is greater than the commercial fishery. In addition, since FWC states that pompano and permit are combined for management/enforcement because they are difficult to differentiate, it is unclear how these new species-specific commercial trip limits will be enforced.

• Stock Assessment: Despite the lack of data essential for management, current recommendations do not include plans for a program to obtain the fisheries and biological data necessary for a stock assessment.  Without strong stock assessment data, fisheries declines won’t be detected until after the fact, and will make a recovery plan more difficult.

- As regulations on other species become stricter due to overfishing, BTT is concerned that fishing pressure on permit will increase.  This underscores the need for strong data now.

*Crabtree et al. 2002. Age, growth, and reproduction of permit (Trachinotus falcatus) in Florida waters. Fishery Bulletin. 100: 26-34.

Next Steps

BTT reiterates its commitment to continue working with FWC to improve conservation and management of permit, and is pleased that the permit fishery is now starting to gain the attention it deserves. To address shortcomings in data on permit needed for effective conservation, BTT is initiating a multi-year Permit Research Program in Florida. BTT plans to work with sponsors, FWC, anglers, and guides on this multi-year effort.

The foundation of this effort will be made possible by a generous contribution from Costa Del Mar Sunglasses. Costa Del Mar has dedicated fours years of funding to support a state-wide tagging program for permit. In 2010, Costa Del Mar will contribute $15,000 to the Permit Tagging Project.  The Permit Tagging Project will be a statewide effort using anglers and guides to tag permit.  The catch and recapture data will finally give us an idea of permit movements in Florida waters, and provide managers with new data that might be applied to management zones. For example: are the permit that spawn on artificial reefs off southwest Florida the same permit that inhabit the Florida Keys, or do they come from elsewhere; are the permit of Florida a single large population, or are permit populations regional?

This program will involve anglers and guides throughout the state, and will be a priority program for BTT and Costa Del Mar. BTT plans for this project to be just the beginning of a major permit program in Florida. If you fish for permit in the state of Florida, and want to take part in this program, please send us an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will put you on the list to receive a tagging kit in spring 2010.