Saturday, March 6, 2010

Fish traps are awful contraptions that just won't go away -- in several respects. As reported earlier this week, a fisherman in northern Florida is asking to be exempt from the current trap ban so he can test his "experimental" fish traps.

This would mark the first return of traps to the gulf waters since they were phased out in 2006.

Fish traps have long been the bane of both conservationists and fishermen. The traps ensnare any creature unlucky enough to cross their path, resulting in a high percentage of by-catch. Some traps are described as "self-baiting," in that the fish they trap become bait for yet more fish to enter the trap -- a captive food chain, of sorts.

While on its face, the idea of creating a fish trap that does not indiscriminately kill is laudable, the reality appears to be far from altruistic. In order to conduct the experiment, the inventor is asking to be allowed to place 50 of his "new" traps in the gulf -- and 50 of the old-style traps as a control. The permit he seeks would allow this study to go on for a year and, of course, the inventor would get to keep and sell everything caught in either type trap during this "study."

Others in the fishing industry are crying foul. Critics -- among them appears to be a majority of commercial fishermen -- say the study involves far too many traps, and that this is less of an experiment and more of a clever ploy to make money trapping fish. From the facts we have seen, we must agree with the critics.

Using the ploy of "research" to get around fishing bans is nothing new. Japan has been killing whales for "research" purposes for decades. Japanese fishermen use this ploy to circumvent an international ban on whaling. Few would dispute that the wholesale slaughter of whales has brought many species of these cetaceans to the verge of extinction. One would think this tragedy would have halted the whale harvest altogether, including the folly of what poses as research.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is taking public comment on this proposed exemption through tomorrow, and will vote on at the matter during its meeting in Galveston, Texas, in April. With only hours remaining in the comment period, we urge readers to send their thoughts on the issue to steve.branstetter@noaa.gov.

If the inventor of this "revolutionary" fish trap is truly dedicated to finding a solution, he should do so with a dramatically scaled back study. If making money is not the primary issue, then why not use five of the new traps and five of the old traps to do the research? Then if things seem promising, go from there.

We urge the Fisheries Management Council to turn down this request and reaffirm its commitment to preserving the Gulf and re-establishing its fish populations.

-- The Citizen