Finally the Ft Pierce Tribune has a staff writer that can report a - TopicsExpress



          

Finally the Ft Pierce Tribune has a staff writer that can report a news story without being biased. The Following was printed in todays newspaper. This was not done by Ed Killer: TALLAHASSEE — A long-running legal battle that sits at the odd intersection of politics and commercial fishing took another step forward Thursday in a Tallahassee appeal court hearing. In 1994, 72 percent of voters passed a constitutional amendment limiting the size of all fishing nets to 500 square feet, and banned the use of so-called “gill nets,” which catch fish by snagging their gills. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission later crafted rules limited a net’s mesh size — the size of the holes — to 2 inches. The commission has argued the rules were needed to both clarify the constitutional amendment and help replenish mullet populations. Commercial fishermen argued the 2-inch rule has negatively affected their profession and leads to wasteful fishing because those nets only catch juvenile fish, which aren’t marketable. “If the science showed that these rules were causing damage to the mullet fishery,” they should be changed, said Jon Glogau, a lawyer with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office, which represents the wildlife commission. “But that has certainly not been shown here.” His remarks were met with skepticism from Judge Brad Thomas, a member of the three-judge panel that presided over the case’s oral arguments. “Is it true that the 2-inch mesh net results in significant juvenile fish destruction?” he asked. “I don’t believe so,” Glogau immediately responded. The lawsuit was filed by the Wakulla Commercial Fishermen’s Association, which argues the commission rules are decimating the commercial fishing industry. “There is no way you can have an authorized 2-inch net with 2 inches and use it to make a living and catch fish,” said attorney Ron Mowrey, representing the industry. He is asking the 1st District Court of Appeal to uphold Leon Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford’s October ruling overturning the net ban. She said the rules created a “legal absurdity.” The commission quickly appealed, which meant the net ban will remain in place until the case concludes. Supporters of overturning the ban wore shirts that read “Biology vs. Politics,” and called the commission the “fourth branch of government.” It underscores the sharp-elbowed political turf war that has emerged between the commission and fishermen as the issue has worked its way through the courts. The commission, whose board members are gubernatorial appointments, has swatted past attempts by fishermen to overturn the 2-inch rule. During a more than three-hour hearing in 2008, the commission’s board unanimously agreed to stick with the rule. Despite sometimes emotional testimony from fishermen, commissioners said legal precedent required the decision. As is typical in appeals, it’s not clear how much time will pass between Thursday’s oral arguments and the appeal panel issuing its ruling. Recreational fishermen along the Indian River Lagoon were concerned in early November when the state law was temporarily overruled by Circuit Court Judge Jackie Lee Fulford. For a period of about 10 days, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Law Enforcement was instructed to avoid making cases involving the net ban because of the confusion it caused. On Nov. 6, the First District Court of Appeals reinstated the stay of Fulford’s order until arguments could be heard.
Posted on: Fri, 16 May 2014 17:31:24 +0000

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