December 02, 2004
12/3 - South Florida: Trying to reason with MPA season.
Some people feel anglers and divers are being victimized by MPA plans in South Florida:
The presentation by Carl Beaver of FWC's Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg made it sound like the reefs are roamed by ruthless bands of anglers and divers who break the law every chance they get. Besides making law enforcement more efficient, the plan calls for marine protected areas in which no fishing or diving would be allowed because the areas are "easier to enforce" and might help the reef and the fish that live there. "We have an obligation to look at all management techniques," Beaver said. "The problem with MPAs is that once they're established, they never go away. If they work - and it's doubtful they would off Broward and Palm Beach counties - they'll stay in place. If they don't work, bureaucrats will come back and ask to make them bigger."
Everybody Go Away: Those misanthropic creators of MPAs.