Dry Tortugas

[SeaHound]

what law is that?

There is a law that you can't spear/collect/fish for anything in the Marine Sanctuary, but you can enter them with catch on board....

The Ultimate Getaway did that every night on your trip most likely when they anchored in the lee of Fort Jefferson.

They just don't perform diving operations in the park after they've taken on fish from spearing or Lobsters caught because there is not way to prove that they were not done on the previous dive for exmaple.

that's just smart operations on the part of the Captain. Keeps him out of fines....

We never went near Fort Jefferson for the same legality you stated. Since there was catch on board, it would be hard to prove it was taken outside the sanctuary. I would have loved to go inside the fort but I plan to go with Ultimate Getaways next time and do that.

 

[diver 85]

In April I will be going on a live aboard dive trip. Right now the captain is 99% sure he will get a permit to dive the Dry Tortugas. Has anyone been? What is the diving like and do you have a great dive site we should not miss?

Never dived the DT, but be sure & check with the Spree.......great liveaboard while in the GofM divng the Flower Gardens--Great operation for/while diving 120 miles offshore....

 

[Scott L]

We never went near Fort Jefferson for the same legality you stated. Since there was catch on board, it would be hard to prove it was taken outside the sanctuary. I would have loved to go inside the fort but I plan to go with Ultimate Getaways next time and do that.

I beleive Mike S was indicating it was permissable provided no diving operations were also conducted in the sanctuary. If this is wrong I am sure we will be corrected soon if recent history is any indicator.

 

[mike_s]

A little research and I found their rules on harvesting, taking and possession within the sanctuary, but there are some exceptions and might be other rules....

I need to look into it a little more when I've got more time...

However, seeing how there are only a handful of commercial operators that dive recreational divers to the Tortugas, I can assure you these guys are following the rules or NOAA and FWC would be all over them. They can't afford to have their high dollar charter operations shut down by pulled permits.

For example, the crew on the Ultimate Getaway inspected any Lobster that was onboard and measured it a 2nd time and checked it for eggs. They wanted to make sure that they were well within the rules.

 

[Wookie]

I am repeating hearsay information as heard while off-gassing between dives on vacation. I have better things to do with my time other than fact checking the information heard with NOAA management. This is a discussion board not a court of law. How did the lionfish spotted in September get past you? Back for training? Lol

LOL. The training occurred after we spotted the lionfish. NOAA had a coral disease cruise there two weeks later, didn't see the one we reported. Many folks don't understand the different levels of regulations in the Sanctuary/park. I only understand what applies to me, and I will try to make the mud clearer.

Dry Tortugas National Park. (or DRTO). Dry Tortugas National Park is a buoyed off area which encompasses 7 islands around Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas. This land is part of Monroe County FL, including the submerged lands. Spearfishing is prohibited with in the park. If there are speared fish on the boat, diving is prohibited within the park. Fishing is allowed in the park, but not in the Research Natural Area, which is basically the northwest 1/3 of the park, not including a 1 mile radius around Garden Key. No commercial vessel may operate inside the national park without a commercial use authorization. Only 4 vessels currently have Commercial Use Authorizations which include diving in the park, the M/V Ultimate Getaway, R/V Tiburon, M/V Playmate, and M/V Spree. All CUA's expire at the end of the year. We are waiting to see who gets approved for the next 2 years. If an operator visits the park without a CUA, they risk a $10,000 fine. That includes any vessel for hire, even if it's a 6 pack. There are also CUA's for wildlife viewing, sailing schools, charter fishing boats, and ferry boats. Fishing by any method within the Research Natural Area of the park is prohibited by any method. So is anchoring, once the mooring buoys are in place.

Surrounding the waters of the DRTO is the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Regular Sanctuary rules apply within the sanctuary, fishing is allowed, don't anchor in the coral. Within the Sanctuary, however, are some special designations. One of the designations is the Tortugas Ecological Reserve. The TER is divided up into North and South. South is known as Riley's Hump, and is a spawning ground for many many types of fish and has some resident species that are difficult to see in other locations, such as the Sargassum Triggerfish. Vessels may only transit Rileys, they may not stop there. That means no diving, for any reason. A commercial vessel cannot get a permit. The only way to go there is with a valid research permit. NOAA holds 2, and FWC holds one. Otherwise, if an operator tells you he's taking you to dive Riley's, he risks confiscation of his boat.

TER-North is a result of the Tortugas 2000 effort. Restrictions include no anchoring, no fishing, if fish are onboard, no stopping while in transit. Basically, the same restrictions that are present in the Research Natural Area of the DRTO. Any vessel must have a permit to go to the TER-North, regardless of ownership. Permits are obtained from the FKNMS headquarters office in Key West. A charter boat was caught in the TER-North last year anchored, fishing, with over limit grouper, and 2 jewfish onboard. The vessel was obviously on an overnight trip, and only had one captain. Fines totaled over $90,000. I don't know what the settlement was.

If an operator tells you that they have a permit to dive (or operate) in the Dry Tortugas, ask to see it. Not that you would get to participate in the fine, but that may cut your hard earned vacation short if the vessel is required to return to port for "further action". OBTW, past performance and prior possession of a park permit is no guarantee of future holding of a permit. They may tell all current permit holders to go pound sand and award the permits to all new vessels. And they are checking. I was boarded twice last year by NPS rangers, and once by NOAA/FWC LE to ensure I was in permit compliance.

Valhalla, I am authorized to capture lionfish in SPA's (Sanctuary Protection Areas). We don't operate in SPA's, and there are no SPA's in Dry Tortugas. They didn't even provide beer at the training session. I'm not too sure why I went, except I was hoping they would train us to catch lionfish in the TER also. Must be a different kind of ocean/reef. We are asking the Sanctuary Staff to hold a train the trainer course so we can teach customers to catch the little buggers. Then we can have a proper lionfish roundup.

Frank

 

[cdreamer]

Never dived the DT, but be sure & check with the Spree.......great liveaboard while in the GofM divng the Flower Gardens--Great operation for diving 120 miles offshore....

Having done the Flower Gardens and the Tortugas with the Spree - I agree 100%.

My absolute favorite dive in the Tortugas was "Bat Caves". Several large
swim through "rooms" - very nice dive.

 

[Scott L]

Wookie, thanks for very thorough and informative post. There was more speculation going on in this thread than an Oliver Stone production. Scott

 

[mike_s]

If an operator tells you that they have a permit to dive (or operate) in the Dry Tortugas, ask to see it. Not that you would get to participate in the fine, but that may cut your hard earned vacation short if the vessel is required to return to port for "further action".

No commercial vessel may operate inside the national park without a commercial use authorization. Only 4 vessels currently have Commercial Use Authorizations which include diving in the park, the M/V Ultimate Getaway, R/V Tiburon, M/V Playmate, and M/V Spree.

We had an issue with this several years ago.

We chartered a boat for a Tortugas trip. The captain/owner "whined" about taking us there, saying there was nothing there to see, too far to run, etc....

later we found out that he didn't have the required permit for commercial operation in the Tortugas. ( a fact that he overlooked when he took the deposits for booking our trip).

My absolute favorite dive in the Tortugas was "Bat Caves". Several large
swim through "rooms" - very nice dive.

"Bat caves" is a very cool dive. I've done it twice. once during the day and once as a night dive.

 

[Wookie]

We had an issue with this several years ago.

We chartered a boat for a Tortugas trip. The captain/owner "whined" about taking us there, saying there was nothing there to see, too far to run, etc....

later we found out that he didn't have the required permit for commercial operation in the Tortugas. ( a fact that he overlooked when he took the deposits for booking our trip).


"Bat caves" is a very cool dive. I've done it twice. once during the day and once as a night dive.

It's interesting. The folks who can't go there tell their customers what lousy diving it is. I think it is what the keys were 20 years ago. The reefs are healthy, fish populations are remarkable (as long as the poaching is kept to a dull roar), Whoever you go with will have a different agenda. We don't fish, so we concentrate our diving in the places where fishing isn't allowed. UG does both kinds of trips, so he dives everywhere. Playmate is mainly fishing, so he stays where the fishing is good. Any of the permitted operators are outstanding in their own way, and the Tortugas is (in my opinion) one of the most overlooked spots in the United States. The Flower Gardens is much harder to get to, and is much better known than the Tortugas. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing missing from the Tortugas is the large animal encounters (Mantas and Whale Sharks) which I miss from the Flower Gardens.

Isn't it the law that if you're going to dive Bat Cave that you do it as a night dive? It is our most popular night dive site.

 

[mike_s]

It's interesting. The folks who can't go there tell their customers what lousy diving it is. .

clearly he was just making excuses not to go there..... because he didn't have the permits it seems

He bad mouthed every other dive boat that went to the Tortugas also.... go figure.

he didn't know where any of the dive sites were. so again, excuses....
(It's not as easy as finding a dive site in Key Largo, where all you have to do is motor over to the buoys where all the other boats are tied up).