mini season

With Mini Season upon us I'm ready to run and hide. Keys
residents were so outraged at the weekend traffic as if it
wasn't bad enough already, that Wednesday and Thursday are the new rape & pillage days. There will be public forums
soon to discuss problems related to mini season. To residents it's a nightmare,(something like the harbor scene
in the Jaw's Movie)The fragile Keys ecosystems are taxed
to the max. Yahoo's ripping up coral reefs, running aground
in fragile sea grass beds. The damage is taking it's toll
year after year. Last years lobster crop was the worst in years, no one is going to tell me that they are not related.

Keysgirl,yes something has to be done ,but how about the residents taking some of the credit for too.Those yahoos have to stay ,eat,and buy things some where.Also the commercial take of lobster mostly by Keys residents plays a much greater role on the reduction in the lobster pop.I'd suggest getting the community groups to focus on getting more law enforcement from the state for this weekend.We don't come down(from Jax)until after the yahoos go home.I see the damage you talk about ,but a lot of it could be prevented with very vigorous enforcement .Sort of like how Broward county handled the spring break crowds in the 80's.Another cause of problems is all the septic tanks down there thatare causing damage to the ecosystem.The Keys are in need of help,but a lot could be done by limiting the commercialization that is rampant down there.Good luck

Ok 100 - I won't argue that the economic impact of Mini
Season is a big big factor. The Keys are a very fragile
environment. We currently have very strict ROGO restrictions. Without these the Key's would look like \
disneyland in no time. The legal harvest of lobsters is
a very important part of the ecomomy . Traffic, pollution
and growth are all being debated to death. Most people
living in the Keys do not want more development, they want
LESS. It's hard to find a reef that isn't suffering from
too much traffic, by both divers and fishermen. If mini season is to continue to survive it will need hugh amounts
of money to offset the damage. Lobster stamps should be
substantially more expensive, and just as Sanibel has an
expensive toll, so should we. I prefer quality not
quantity. Important issues are being raised on both State
and FEderal levels that can keep the Keys the beautiful
treasure they are.

What's a mini season?

O.K. - told you it was stupid question. Got my answer a little further down the board from Greg. Thanks anyway.

Keysgirl,

I can understand your concern. But you need to understand first that the keys belong to all of us, not just "keys residents". Granted, some people don't take care of the reef, but to overgeneralize and say all "outsiders" are destroying the reefs is very elitist and just plain wrong. I live 20 miles north of you and dive the keys many times a year, and believe me I've seen plenty of destruction from both residents and tourists alike. And let's not forget, the keys would not be the keys without tourism and the dollars that it brings, so let's be a bit grateful for that (rather than calling tourists "yahoos").

As for the recent low catches of lobster, I agree with 100 days, I'm not so sure you can blame it all on recreational divers fishing for lobster two days out of the year (once the regular season starts, lobster divers decrease dramatically). In fact, this same argument is used very often by commercial fisherman to limit recreational catches of fish, thereby ensuring more "rape and pillaging" action for them.

I think other things play a factor too, including pollution from other sources, and the simple natural cycle of nature (some years are good, others bad).

Take a look at Miami. It is my understanding that lobster catches are pretty good year after year, and we have plenty of careless divers here, believe me.

In sum, I don't believe that a two day mini-season in an entire year can reasonably be said to be the only cause of the recent decrease in lobster catches in the Keys.

Whoa
Slow down MiamiJaaz.You are reading much more into what I said than you should. I'm the first one to tell you that
Yes the Keys do belong to all of us. That's the point. My
concern is that it be around for the next millenium. Of course not all outsiders are yahoos - I never said that. Many come down to enjoy the beauty , obey the laws,and have a wonderful time diving for lobsters .But remember that there are also many that have not regard for the law or the environment. The diver who posted that he was coming down
and was going to be in the water at 1201AM is a perfect example. Diving for lobsters at night in Monroe County is
illegal. If you dive the Keys often you have swam by dozens
of Lobster Traps full of lobsters, would you help yourself?
Of course not, neither would I - But there are many people
who disregard the law, these are the yahoos I refer to.Are
there locals who are part of the problem - with out a doubt. Mini season doubles the population of the Keys, the strain on the enviroment is tremendous, I am not an elitist
I want to share this jewel and preserve it at the same time.
I don't have all the answers but I do my part participating
in Reef Sweep (we brought up over 600 lbs of garbage )and when I'm diving I do pick up garbage, fishing line etc.

KeysGirl,thanx for not classifying us all as yahoos.;0...I'll be down Aug 5th til Sep 8th in Little Torch.We make a habit of helping the less informed by giving them copies from the bait store of current regs.Of course my cel phone works too.And I have called *FHP to get an Idiot or 2 caught.I think that above and beyond just the lobster divers that the whole marine industry could stand a special user tax on such priceless resources.Sort of like a park fee.Until there is a way for people to be made accountable more often than not there will be more habitat degradation.I don't like it,I fight it,but in masses we humans ain't the brightest crayons in box.

Thanks for clearing that up keysgirl.

We are in agreement that there are plenty of careless divers. Maybe that diver who said he would be in the water at 12:01am was talking about Dade County where night fishing for lobster is legal? If he wasn't, it just goes to show us that people need to be educated about the law. I am, of course, giving that diver the benefit of the doubt and assuming that he was just plain ignorant of the law, and was not intentionally trying to break it.

By the way, speaking about breaking the law, commercial lobster trap fisherman do it all the time too. Since they are, by law, limited as to the number of traps they can have, some of them lay down traps without marking them with bouys. They just string traps along a line every few feet and take down the coordinates of where the traps are located so they can find them later. It is impossible from the surface to tell where the traps are, so it is VERY difficult to catch the violators. I've run into these traps diving and you would not believe the amount of lobster they catch.

I don't have ay evidence, but it seems to me that these thieving lobster fisherman do a whole lot more damage to the lobster population than recreational divers do.

It really makes me sad to hear these reports of the keys. I am a born and raised "Conch" from Key West. I no longer live there... much because the in flux of so much commercialism and tourism. I truly miss the days when we could just go to the beach after school or work for a snorkeling expedition. I used to be able to dine on the lobster or as we called them crawfish, grouper, and shrimp any night of the week. Now it is rare for me. I love the keys with all my heart and that is where I would much rather be, but life takes its turns and I have to stay where I am. On a much happier note I will be in Key West the first weekend of October, staying at my parents house, used to be my grandparents home, it has been passed down the family. I plan to get in atleast 4 dives while there, maybe five. I hope I am not disappointed in how the reef has changed.

Bottums up....Bubbles Up!!!
Cindy