Emergency Court Action Seeks Halt to Drawdown
Discharges to major estuaries linked to damaging "mudbaths."

An emergency motion has been filed in federal court requesting a temporary injunction against an impending drawdown of Lake Toho that is expected to lead to even more discharges of billions of gallons of fresh water into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries in the Fort Myers and Stuart coastal regions.

The Indian Riverkeeper, local affiliate of a national group that has successfully fought for clean water programs in other states, filed the injunction motion this week in West Palm Beach, asking for a hearing in early December. The action is filed against the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and its brigadier general, although the drawdown program is a project of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"This is a good solid legal action that should help stop some of the mudbaths that have caused so much loss of marine life and socio-economic damage," said FS Founder Karl Wickstrom. "It's an outrage that our elected officials have let this happen. The large discharges must stop and then be prevented in the future. The state could end this nonsense pretty fast if it showed concern for the coastal communities, as well as the health of Lake Okeechobee."

Click here to read the Riverkeeper motion and news release.

New Dolphin/Wahoo Regs On the Way
Get ready for new size and bag limits for Atlantic waters.

A first-ever federal minimum size limit for dolphin and a bag limit for wahoo are among proposed fishing regulations for Atlantic waters.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has finalized its Fishery Management Plan for dolphin and wahoo, and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is seeking public comment on the plan prior to final implementation.

The council has portrayed the plan as a precautionary approach to the management of dolphin and wahoo, neither of which the council deems overfished. The overall goal, as stated in a summary of the plan, is to “maintain current harvest level and insure that no new fisheries develop.”

The regulations which would apply to recreational anglers shouldn’t be hard to live with, generally falling in line with existing attitudes among many sportfishermen. Commercial limits appear to have been drafted in part to curtail excessive longline catches, while preserving modest annual catches not to exceed 13-percent of the combined recreational and commercial landings.

You can read the entire plan at www.safmc.net Some key elements are listed below. Remember, these apply only to federal waters (between 3 and 200 miles from shore) along the Atlantic coast. Gulf waters, west of Key West, are not covered. State regulations generally conform to federal regs within a year or so of implementation, pending action by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

* 20-inch minimum size, fork length, for dolphin caught in Atlantic waters off Florida and Georgia

* Recreational bag limit of 10 dolphin per person, no more than 60 per boat (similar to Florida state regs)

* No-sale of recreationally caught dolphin (charterboats with appropriate permits may continue to sell catches, still a contentious issue in many parts)

* Recreational bag limit of 2 wahoo per person

* Commercial trip limits of 1,000 pounds for dolphin in waters off Florida and Georgia; 3,000 pounds north of latitude 31 degrees north

* Commercial trip limit of 500 pounds for wahoo

* Permit and reporting requirements for commercial and charter vessels

* No longline fishing for either species in areas closed to longlines for the protection of Highly Migratory Species (like the swordfish nursery in the Straits of Florida)

To comment on the plan, send letters or faxes (no e-mails) prior to December 18, 2003, to: Dr. Steve Branstetter, NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702; fax 727-570-5583.

Last Cast for Dedicated Conservationist Bonnie Beall
Hard-fighting Everglades advocate was also expert fly fisher.

In the early days of fighting to stop commercial overfishing in Everglades National Park, a key player was a young and energetic gal in the Florida Keys who earned the respect of fellow anglers and officials on all levels. Bonnie Beall (pronounced Bell) leaves a legacy of outstanding service through the Everglades Protection Association, which was the key non-profit group that convinced government to eliminate commercial netting from Everglades National Park close to a quarter-century ago.

After those long park battles, Bonnie went on to help merge the Everglades organization into the new Florida Conservation Association (now Coastal Conservation Association Florida) which joined Florida Sportsman to achieve the historic no-sale status for redfish in 1989.

Bonnie was an Islamorada resident for 27 years before moving to Jacksonville in 2002. When not fly fishing her home waters, she plied her fly fishing skills around the globe, from Alaska to the tropics. She consistently won or placed high in flyfishing tournaments, and was an expert fly tyer and fly fishing instructor as well. She died Sunday at age 53 while on a camping trip. Friends said she wanted her ashes to be spread on a bonefish flat in the Keys, and a memorial service is planned for sometime after January 1st.

"I'll always remember Bonnie's enthusiasm, humbleness, dedication and talent, and her smile absolutely lit up a room," said Florida Sportsman Managing Editor Mike Conner. "When we enjoy the wonders of the Everglades backcountry and its outstanding regulations and fishing, we should tip our caps to Bonnie. She made a real difference."

Super-Slam It
Recent reports reveal that for billfish, Venezuela is going off.

Shot after shot after shot from blues, whites and sails, maybe even a sword or spearfish. How’s that sound, billfishers?

If that whets your appetite, contemplate these catches. Two boats fishing Venezuela’s La Guaira Bank recorded super slams lately. One made the grade by releasing a sail, white marlin, blue marlin and a spearfish. The other accomplished the feat with a sail, white, blue and a swordfish.

Typically, from early November to late December you’ll get an average of 15 to 20 shots a day at billfish. Normal bite counts are 7 to 8 for whites, 3 or 4 for blues and 5 for sails. Besides encountering an offbeat sword or spearfish, another species that’ll likely test your mettle over the Bank right now is yellowfin tuna. For more Venezuela fishing information, visit www.southfishing.com.

Tournament to Record Golden Anniversary
Stuart Sailfish Club Light Tackle Tournament set for 50th birthday.

Fifty and counting. That will be the age of Stuart Sailfish Club’s Light Tackle Tournament once the event starts on December 8. What’s more, the club plans to make its golden anniversary LTT a major blowout.

The event is one of three that comprise the Treasure Coast Sailfish Championship—Pirate’s Cove Resort Sailfish Classic, Stuart Sailfish Club Light Tackle Tournament and Pelican Yacht Billfish Tournament. Treasure Coast Championship tourneys differ from circuits such as the La Libertad Cup (Miami) and the Keys Gold Cup in that competitors must troll with dead bait or lures versus baiting sails with livies.

For more LTT and Treasure Coast Championship information, visit these Web sites: stuartsailfishclub.com and inthebite.com.

You Drop Longlines, We’ll Drop Lawsuit
Commercial longlines in northern Gulf Stream devastate white marlin stocks.

Environmental activists offered the National Marine Fisheries Service a deal last week—take commercial longlines out of marlin feeding grounds in Atlantic U.S. coastal waters, and they will drop a lawsuit threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Marlin researcher Jim Chambers and Brendan Cummings, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, want a Gulf Stream area from Cape Hatteras to Long Island closed to tuna and swordfish longliners during warmer months, when marlin also frequent the feeding grounds before migrating south for the winter. Longliners, according to Jim Mosko, president of Ocean City’s White Marlin Open, dump 3,000 dead marlin a year into the ocean, dangerously depleting the already stressed species.

“The feds are leaving it up to ICCAT (the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas), and that is not working,” said Mosko. American sport fishermen want the international agreements bypassed by imposing strict unilateral commercial regulations inside the 200-mile marker. Parts of the Gulf of Mexico may also be affected if environmentalists get their wish.

Still Newsworthy: Biscayne National Park Unveils Draft Management Alternatives
Proposed non-combustion engine use zones would hinder angling.

Biscayne National Park (BNP) has scheduled another round of meetings to take public comment on just-released draft alternatives for its General Management Plan. Once finalized, the plan will dictate public access and activities on BNP waters and lands.

There are four “action” draft alternatives in all, and one “no-action” alternative describing present management policy and serving as a baseline for the others.

Alternatives 2 through 5 propose various levels of resource protection and human activity restrictions throughout the Park, including non-combustion motor-use only zones, which will be of most interest to flats fishers. Some of the areas considered for such restrictions include the Arsenickers, the mainland shoreline from the Park’s northern boundary south to Convoy Point, Cutter Bank from Caesar Creek to Broad Creek, and the flats stretching from Boca Chita Key north to Stiltsville just off Key Biscayne.

According to BNP Superintendent Linda Canzanelli, a non-combustion motor use-only zone would require either electric motor, paddle, oar or sail propulsion only. However, outboard engine operation could be permitted at idle speed in waters over 3 feet deep within the boundaries of these zones.

The draft alternatives are not set in stone, and are up for debate and fine-tuning at public meetings to be held in early December (see places and times below). If you are not on BNP’s mailing list, to acquire a copy of the draft plan, call (305) 230-1144 ext. 3002. The park expects to have the draft plan alternatives posted on its Web site (www. nps.gov/bisc) sometime during the week of Nov 17th.

Public meetings will be held from 3:00 until 7:00 p.m. at the following locations:

Dec 2, 2003: Weston Beach Resort, 97000 Overseas Hwy., Key Largo
Dec 3, 2003: Crowne Plaza Hotel, 950 NW LeJeune Rd., Miami
Dec 4, 2003: Homestead Family YMCA, 1034 NE 8th St., Homestead

FS Fishing Show to Open in West Palm Beach
Bring your fishing buddies and family, it’s showtime!

Mark your calendar. The Florida Sportsman Fishing Show, featuring seminars, tackle, boats and the Riggin’ It Right Academy, is on the way to West Palm Beach. The Show, which opens at 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 22 at the South Florida Fairgrounds, 9067 Southern Blvd. (6 miles west of I-95), has something for every fisherman, age 5 to 75.

Offshore anglers might want to catch Capt. Bob Pelosi’s swordfish seminar. Bottom fishermen, kingfishers and inshore anglers will also be able to attend seminars specific to their chosen angling pursuits. Don’t forget to clip a $2-off coupon out of latest issue of Florida Sportsman. For a complete list of show activities, click www.floridasportsman.com/fs/shows/wpb.html.

Here’s a list of the seminar speakers and times:

Inshore Stage
11 a.m.: Capt. Mark Nichols Wadefishing the Flats
Noon: Capt. Mike Hakala Trout College
1 p.m.: Capt. Ray Van Horn Secrets of a Redfish Pro
2 p.m.: Capt. Greg Gentile Fishing the Indian River for Snook
3 p.m.: Barry Brimacomb Fishing the Lake Worth Lagoon
4 p.m.: Dr. Ray Waldner Fishing Hobe Sound

Offshore Stage
11 a.m.: Capt. George Mitchell Day in the Life of a Dolphin Pro
Noon: Capt. Tore Turney Winning Sailfish Strategies
1 p.m.: Capt. Bob Pelosi Swordfish Are Back
2 p.m.: Kevin Dean The Chumming Professor
3 p.m.: Capt. Eden White Advanced Bottom Fishing
4 p.m.: Denny Young Secrets of a Kingfish Tournament Pro