MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission proposed a new rule to address the ongoing injuries seabirds face near the Skyway Fishing Pier State Park.
Conservationists have pushed for the changes — as they try to save hundreds of birds injured or killed each year after getting caught up in hooks or fishing line.
FWC came up with the rule change during a Tuesday meeting on the matter. However, it's not set in stone. FWC is encouraging staff to consider other options and refine the proposal before the final hearing.
“I just didn’t get the greatest feeling from the meeting, unfortunately,” Kim Begay, vice-chair of Friends of the Pelicans, said.
Begay says she and her group came away somewhat disappointed by Tuesday’s FWC meeting.
“It’s frustrating. It’s very frustrating,” she said. “The birds have no voice and we’re trying to speak for them, and I just feel like it just keeps compromising in a downward fashion. We hope it will go back up.”
Begay says each year nearly 2,000 birds are injured or killed near the Skyway Pier. Most get entangled in fishing lines or hooks.
The rule change should curb the ongoing entanglement, injury and mortality of pelicans, seagulls and other seabirds in the area. It would also "reduce angler-seabird interactions and further seabird conservation while continuing to allow the tradition of fishing to continue," FWC says.
"We are grateful for the engagement and feedback from our stakeholders who are continuing to work collaboratively with us to address brown pelican entanglements at Skyway Fishing Pier State Park," FWC Commissioner Robert A. Spottswood said in a news release. "It’s our job to balance the interests of both fish and wildlife as well as anglers. We face this all the time. We’ve always limited or closed access only as a last resort, and we have approved this proposed rule with the understanding that modifications will likely occur at the final hearing."
So far, options up for consideration to improve seabird safety at the piers are education requirements, seasonal gear restrictions, limiting the number of sets of hook and line fishing gear, gear restrictions on a portion of the pier and deterrents, FWC says.
But commissioners seemed to favor a three-month ban rather than the year-round or even five-month compromise conservationists had pushed for.
“It certainly isn’t fair to start with 12 months and then go all the way down to three," Begay reasoned. "That’s definitely not a consensus."
The new rules will also likely limit fishing rods to two per person rather than three. And require some education about rescuing waterfowl. Capt. Dylan Hubbard with Hubbard Marina says from the anglers’ perspective, it’s still a lot to ask.
“To me, it’s being totally discriminatory to huge subsets of our population,” Hubbard said. “Plus, people access the fishery out there on this pier for their sustenance. And in order to catch those mackerel and kingfish they really need the sabiki rigs, these double rigs, these treble hooks.”
The new rules are not yet set in stone. FWC commissioners have set aside a period for public input, but the pelicans have federal protection, and changes are likely coming.
“You can’t just say we have rights to fish here above all else. The birds have rights too,” Begay said. “But it doesn’t seem like anybody is really addressing those rights in a manner that is reasonable and protective enough.”
Conservationists say during the public input period they might ask FWC to reconsider some of their suggestions.
A final decision is expected in the next three to five months with any changes taking affect later this year.
Friends of the Pelicans says FWC Commissioners have an open invitation to come out to the pier and join them anytime, to get a firsthand look at some of the issues being discussed.