By TIMOTHY O'HARA Citizen Staff

Article Tools

Monroe County's plan to obtain a $7.5 million state grant to help buy a vacant waterfront lot to lease to commercial fishermen for boat dockage and trap storage has garnered mixed reactions in the industry.

Some say the industry would benefit, because no Florida Keys fisherman or trade organization owns any sizable waterfront property, leaving them at the mercy of marina owners who have been quick to redevelop into condominium housing. But at least one member of the commercial fishing industry said buying the former Gulf Seafood Co. property on Stock Island could do more harm than good.

"It will be good for Key West and good for the county," said Jeff Cramer, a local commercial fisherman and vice president of Organized Fishermen of Florida.

Several fishermen attended Wednesday's Monroe County Commission meeting to support pursuing the grant, saying the property is needed to protect fishermen from waterfront redevelopment. Several property owners along Safe Harbor on Stock Island have plans to build condos, hotels, shops and restaurants.

The fishermen also emphasized the need for trap storage. Keys fishermen harvest 90 percent of the state's lobster, which generates $30 million annually, and 60 percent to 70 percent of its stone crab, which brings in about $24 million a year.

Stock Island Lobster Co. owner Peter Bacle disagrees with them, and has a laundry list of reasons why.

Bacle, who has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in his Maloney Avenue property since 2005, said the county should use the grant money to buy an existing fish house, whether it be his or someone else's. His property, for example, has utilities and excess space for boat dockage and trap storage, enough to accommodate a dozen or more boats, he said. The Gulf Seafood property is scarified and does not have electricity or trash service, which could be costly to the county, he said.

Bacle on Wednesday asked the commission whether taxpayers or tenant fishermen would be saddled with maintenance costs, noting that working waterfronts can be a "toxic mess," producing thousands of gallons of waste oil and tons of oil filters. An answer was not forthcoming.

Bacle argued that fishermen might not be able to afford such costs, and questioned whether they could even afford to lease the property from the county. The $7.5 million grant would cover only a portion of the purchase price. Their rent would subsidize the several million dollars the county would need to pony up for the purchase.

WSG Development Co., which owns the property, would consider selling it for $11 million to $12 million, with the state grant as a down payment, Senior Vice President Jeff Graff said Wednesday.

The county hopes a slowed real estate market might allow it to buy the property, purchased in 2005 for $10 million, at a reduced cost.

Bacle also claimed the purchase would drive him and other local fish house owners out of business. He said because of his overhead, he could not compete with independent fishermen who could sell lobster, stone crab claws and other seafood products directly to wholesale distributors, whose trucks could pull up to the docks and trek seafood out of the Keys.

"This will draw fishermen away from the two remaining fish houses," Bacle said. "They will not sell to our fish houses. Fish houses operate on slim profit margins. ... It could have such a major impact on our fishery."

Despite his arguments, the County Commission unanimously agreed to pursue the grant. Some officials have said it may be difficult to obtain, as the $7.5 million the county wants is the entire amount the Stan Mayfield Working Waterfront grant program, now in its first year, has to distribute.

So far, the program has received two applications and the deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The state Department of Community Affairs, which oversees the program, will present all proposals to the Florida Communities Land Trust Board by the end of January. That board, which includes appointed members and the secretaries of Community Affairs and Environmental Protection, will decide how to allocate the money.

tohara@keysnews.com