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There’s a bit of a brouhaha going on at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier on Florida’s Tampa Bay that could have repercussions for coastal anglers all around the country.
The gist of the matter is that local birding fans and nature lovers are calling for fishing to be severely restricted from the pier. This is particularly odd because the only reason the pier is there is that it was preserved as a fishing pier when the southbound span of the old Skyway Bridge collapsed back in 1980 after being struck by a freighter—a major tragedy causing 35 deaths as multiple vehicles plunged into the bay.
The new Skyway Bridge (much sturdier, thankfully) has been in place since 1987, and the remnants of the old bridge on both the north and south sides have been converted into what is arguably the world’s longest fishing pier, a state park attracting tens of thousands of anglers annually from all over the eastern U.S.
It’s open 365 days a year—yes, even Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years—24 hours a day, and the fee is just $4 a person plus $4 for the vehicle. It’s particularly good for the elderly and disabled, since it’s basically drive-up fishing. In many areas, you can almost fish out the window of your parked car. It’s great for those who can’t afford a boat, too.
The pier has the benefit of spanning the main passage in and out of 25-mile-long Tampa Bay, so that all the tarpon, cobia, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, redfish and other semi-migratory species pass in and out under its span at sometime during the year. It’s also got a number of artificial reefs within casting distance, and these hold lots of grouper and snapper at various times.
Now, the problem is that with all those baited lines dangling below the span, more than a few sea birds are being entangled, and this has the birders justifiably concerned.
The problem is that many of the anglers, often non-residents with no experience at handling wildlife, will simply cut the line when a bird gets snagged, leaving it to fly off trailing many feet of monofilament behind. The bird eventually roosts on a mangrove, gets entangled, and hangs there to die a terrible death.
If the anglers were to all agree among themselves to never cut their lines when hooking a bird, but to do the right thing and catch the bird and remove the hook before releasing it, the problem would be minimized, but thus far they have not. Non-residents in particular are perhaps unlikely to see the need for this effort.
Some are also using gear which increases the number of bird hookups, including “sabiki” rigs for bait. These are strings of tiny flies, sometimes 7 or more, on a single leader designed to catch small baitfish, that the anglers will then use to catch larger fish.
This has resulted in the birders demanding action from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, which oversees regulations on the pier.
The FWC held a virtual meeting earlier this week to accept public comment, which you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/c/FWCSaltwaterFishing.
And they also continue to welcome public comment on the issue, via this link: https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/rulemaking/saltwater-public-comments/?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=campaign
The FWC has come up with a proposal that they say will allow fishing to continue pretty much unimpeded on the pier and still reduce the number of bird deaths. It would:
The rules seem pretty minimal at this point, though of course if they get put in place and don’t reduce the number of bird mortalities they may get ramped up in future.
The seabirds are a wonderful part of the texture of enjoying the waters of the Gulf Coast, and it would appear most ethical anglers will want to provide them with protection from unnecessary injury and death.
On the other hand, the pier exists for anglers, period, and it would be a huge loss to the public if fishing became severely restricted here. Not only that, but severe rules here would be likely to be emulated elsewhere on Florida’s numerous other public piers, and perhaps in other coastal states as well.
Anglers at the Skyway Pier owe it to themselves to comment on the rules, and also to do the right thing anytime a bird is hooked and make sure to carefully dehook it and release it uninjured.
A bit of peaceful co-existence here, as in Washington, would be no bad thing this holiday season.
— Frank Sargeant