Swap effect with the class name. HOME NEWS palm beach jupiter martin county port st. Port St. Lucie News Ft. The anglers were upset to learn that the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council a federal entity that manages fish species from North Carolina to east Florida was considering the establishment of Marine Protected Areas three miles and farther offshore.
Nothing is a done deal.
Officials said they favor the second of six variations of MPAs, which would ban fishing for snapper and grouper but allow fishing for pelagic species such as dolphin, kingfish and wahoo. Bag limits and closed fishing seasons which received support from many of the anglers are not going to allow the fish populations to recover as fast as is mandated by the federal government, O Malley said. His promises were met with abundant skepticism by anglers, including long-liners, weekend fishermen, sport charter operators and divers. Many questioned whether the snapper-grouper species are threatened and demanded evidence of the need for additional restrictions. They said the net ban has allowed small fish to go offshore and grow to maturity, a claim that O Malley said cannot yet be verified by scientists.