by Rick O'Connor | Oct 2, 2015
While directing the Marine Science Academy for the Escambia County School District I had students conduct small, informal, surveys targeting the popularity of seafood with students, parents, and the community. The purpose of these surveys was to kick start a discussion on the commercial fishing issue. The northern Gulf Coast has been known for several popular seafood products over our history; oysters, blue crab, mullet, snapper to name a few. There are two basic paths a commercial fishery can move as they grow their business. Fish for what they know and is easily harvested and convince the public to purchase – marketing. OR they can find out what the public wants and then develop a fishery to target those species. Hopefully they will find common ground; something that is available, easy to harvest, and popular with the public.
There are about 80 species of commercial seafood products that come from Florida.
Photo: Florida Sea Grant
In those surveys we looked at young and old, male and female. A couple of trends became apparent over the 20+ years we conducted these (remember, low level high school survey… but still interesting). (1) Shrimp was the no.1 favorite with all groups. That’s good, shrimping in the northern Gulf is a do-able product – many will say the best shrimp comes from these waters. But we also know that shrimping has hit hard times; more on this next week.
(2) With males No.2-5 are typically fish, with females it varies from fish to calamari, to sushi, to other. Popular fish of course are grouper and snapper… and we all know the issues with these target species in our area. There are lesser known fish with the general public, though many locals know, such as sheepshead, tilefish, pompano, that are not typically on menus. And of course a local favorite… mullet. With the mix request beyond fish include squid, crab, sushi grade fish, lobster, and others. Some of these are not common in our area and must be transported in. For many where the fish comes from does not really matter – for others it does (more on this in our last addition this month). But as you can see this type of information plays a role on how the seafood business works in the northern Gulf.
(3) The first question on the survey was “do you like seafood?” Of course if the answer was no then it was not necessary to ask further questions. The trend we saw over time was more and more stating they did not like it. Curious… I mean there are things I do not like either – so there is no problem not liking seafood – but we were curious as to why… so we added that to the survey. Our thought as we began was seafood safety. At the time much of the seafood landed was sold at a wholesale or retail market with little or no inspection – did this concern folks? In our survey we found that in most cases it did not. They just did not like the taste… fair enough.
Shrimping.
Photo: NOAA
What do the bigger surveys say? In 2014 an article was posted in the Wall Street Journal discussing this issue and what other surveys found. (1) There was a decline consumption. In 2012 Americans consumed an average of 14.4 lbs of seafood/person. This was down from 15.0 lbs in 2011 and 16.6 lbs in 2004. For comparison, at that time Japanese consumed 120 lbs/person/year and Spain consumed 96 lbs. To compare this with the “big three” at that time Americans consumed 46 lbs of pork, 57 lbs of beef, and 82 lbs of chicken/person/year. Chicken is king… it is a white meat, Americans are trying to eat healthier, but fish is a white meat… so why not fish?
The surveys indicated the top reasons were
- Do not know how to cook
- The price of seafood is high
- Marketing – the seafood industry is fragmented and marketing efforts on the healthy benefits have not happen (or if done, were not done as well as the focused effort of the chicken industry).
To a lesser extent there was concern over safety (particularly mercury) and some concern about genetically modified farm raised fish (salmon in particular was mentioned). Members of the chicken industry highlighted the cost of production for seafood as a barrier for them. It cost more to go to sea and harvest seafood (or raise salmon in ocean pens) than it does to produce the “big three” on farms.
The crab of choice in the northern Gulf of Mexico; blue crab.
Photo: FWC
This year Florida Sea Grant published an article in the September issue of Florida Trends on this issue. Sea Grant pointed out that currently the national consumption of seafood is up to 15 lbs and that Floridians consume 31 lbs/person/year… so there is a trend upwards since the Wall Street Journal’s 2014 article. However 40% of Floridians do not consume 2 servings a week (as suggested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture).
We can state that seafood is healthy for you and it is safe to consume (check out Florida Sea Grant for more on this). What I am finding is that there is a small group of locals now concerned with whether the seafood they are consuming is coming from local fishermen. We will discuss more on these topics in later editions.
Enjoy seafood.
by Rick O'Connor | Sep 24, 2015
The red area indicates where dissolved oxygen levels are low.
I don’t want this to sound like a “Debbie Downer”… but there are problems with our estuaries and panhandle residents should be aware of them. There are things you can do to correct them – which we will discuss in the final issues of this series – but you need to understand the problem to be able to solve it. Unfortunately there are many issues and problems our bays and bayous face and we do not have time in this short article to discuss them all, but we will discuss some.
We’ll start at the top… with our rivers. Since the founding of our nation many communities were built on estuaries; those that were not were built on the rivers. Water was an easy way to move throughout the country – much easier than wagon crossing over the Appalachians or through a bog. There are several communities that developed along the rivers that feed the panhandle bays. Though the situation has improved in the last few decades, most of these communities have used these rivers as a place to dump their waste. Assorted chemicals, sewage, and solid waste were discharged… and it all came down to us. The Mississippi River is an example of this problem. Discovered in the 1990’s the Louisiana Dead Zone is an area in the Gulf where the levels of dissolved oxygen are so low that little or no life can be found on the ocean floor there. It is believed to be trigger by nutrients, chemical fertilizers and animal waste, being discharged upstream. These nutrients create a bloom of plankton, which can darken the water. Though the phytoplankton can produce oxygen during the daylight hours, they consume it in the evening, lowering the concentration of dissolved oxygen within the water column. The plankton are relatively short lived and eventually die. As the dead plankton fall out to the seafloor bacteria begin to decompose their bodies thus dropping the dissolved oxygen levels further. When the dissolved oxygen concentrations drop below 4.0 millgrams/liter we say the water is hypoxic (low in oxygen). Many species of aquatic organisms begin to stress. At 2.0 mg/L many species will die and we have a “dead zone”. If it reaches 0.0 mg/L we say the water is anoxic (without oxygen). This process is called eutrophication and not only a problem at the mouth of the Mississippi River, it occurs in almost all of the bays and bayous of the panhandle and is the primary cause of local fish kills.
A more recent issue with our rivers has been the reduction of water. In the so called “Water Wars” the state of Georgia has used its damn system to block the flow of the Chattahoochee River to create electricity and a reservoir of drinking water for river communities. Under normal conditions this has not created a problem however in recent years the southeast has experienced drought and the state of Georgia has had the need to hold back water for large communities – such as Atlanta. This has reduced the amount of water flowing towards the Gulf and has impacted communities all along the way. It is not the only issue but is the primary factor triggering the collapse of the oyster industry in Apalachicola. The reduced freshwater flow has increased salinities in the bay. This has disrupted the life cycle of the eastern oyster and has increased both predation and disease within these populations. Apalachicola produces over 90% of Florida’s oysters and 10% of the oysters for the entire country! Oysters are a huge industry in this town. Many are oystermen and many others process the product when it is landed… the industry is on the verge of collapsing. (Learn more).
Oysterman on Apalachicola Bay.
Photo: Sea Grant
These are just some the issues stemming from the rivers… what about the issues initiated from the communities that live along the bay…
How about the seafood? We discussed the oyster industry in Apalachicola Bay but oyster production in other local bays has declined as well (for other reasons). Scallops are gone from many of their historic estuaries, shrimp and blue crab landings are down, this year mullet seem to be hard to find. What is going on here? For the most part the decline in seafood products can be tied to either a decline in water quality or from over harvesting. The harvesting issue is easy… do not harvest as much. However these fisheries management decisions impact many lives and has caused a lot of debate. First you need to determine whether the decline is due to overharvesting or some other environmental factor… easier said than done. Certainly the biology of your target species will give you an idea of how many animals you can remove from the system and sustain a healthy population (maximum sustainable yield) but this method has triggered debate as well. Most fishermen do not want to see the fishery collapse and are willing to work with fishery managers to assure this – but they do have bills to pay. Fishery managers have a responsibility to assure the fishery remain for current and future generations of fishermen and they are basing their decisions on the best available science. It is a touchy subject for many and a problem within our estuaries.
The other cause of declining seafood is poor water quality. You can talk to any “ole timer” and they will tell you about the days when the water was clearer, the grass was thicker, and the fish were more abundant… what happen? I spoke with my father-in-law before he passed away about the changes he saw in Bayou Texar in Pensacola. He remembers being able to see the bottom, more seagrass, and being able to catch a variety of finfish as well as shrimp the size of your hand. The first change he remembered was a change in water clarity… it became murkier… and this happen about the time they began to develop the east side of the bayou. As our communities grew more land was cleared for development. The cleared land allowed more runoff to reach the creeks, bayous, and bays. Infrastructure had to be placed to reduce flooding of yards and streets – Bayou Texar has 38 storm drains. All of this led to more runoff into our water ways. With the increase in turbidity the amount of sunlight reaching the bottom was reduced and seagrasses began to decline. Many species of seagrass require salinities of 25 parts per thousand or higher and the increase in freshwater runoff lowered the salinity which also stressed these grasses. Much of this runoff included sand and silt and the grasses were basically buried. All in all seagrasses declined… and with them many of the marine creatures. Salt marshes were removed for coastal developments, industries were located on our rivers and bays and introduced their chemical discharge, and boating activity increased… our estuaries were being literally “loved to death”. I have seen in my lifetime the decline of sea urchins and scallops from our bay, the increase in turbidity, and the decline of seagrasses. But we cannot blame all of this on habitat loss and pollution. Speaking recently with fisheries managers they believe the recent decline in blue crab landings is due to drought. Reduction in rainfall means reduction in river discharge, which means an increase in salinity and a disruption of the crab reproductive cycle.
Power plant on one of the panhandle estuaries.
Photo: Flickr
Another problem that is associated with runoff has been the increase in bacteria. Fecal coliform bacteria are found in the stomachs of birds and mammals. They assist with our digestion and are released into the environment whenever we (or they) go to the bathroom. So finding fecal coliforms in the water is not unusual… the problem is TOO many fecal coliforms. As mentioned coliforms are not a threat to us but they are used as an indicator of how much waste is in the water. Feces harbors many other microbes in addition to coliforms – hepatitis and cholera outbreaks have been linked to sewage in the water. So agencies monitor for these each week. Most agencies will monitor for E. coli when sampling freshwater and Enterococcus in saline waters. E. coli values of 800 colonies / 100 milliters of sample or higher, and Enterococcus values of 104 colonies / 100 ml of sample will trigger a health advisory being issued – and some bodies of water being closed. In the Pensacola area the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Escambia County Health Department both monitor for bacteria. They post their results each week and I, in turn, post to the community. Our local bayous are averaging between 8-10 advisories each year. The problem with these advisories is that residents who live on the waterways, businesses (such as hotels and ecotours) who use the waterways become concerned about entering the water. It is not good for business or property values if the body of water you are on has high levels of bacteria and signs posting “no swimming”.
Closed due to bacteria.
Photo: Rick O’Connor
There are many problems our estuaries are facing but for this article we will end with solid waste. Trash and garbage has been a problem since I can remember. Campaigns have been launched each decade to try and reduce the problem but the problem still exist. Plastics and monofilament litter the beaches and waterways creating problems for marine life and an “eye soar” for those enjoying the bay. I am currently working with the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida and CleanPeace to monitor solid waste in Pensacola Bay. Each week CleanPeace host a Saturday event they call “Ocean Hour” where they select a location on the bay and clean for an hour. They submit the top three items to me each week and have been doing this since January… it has been pretty consistent… cigarette butts, plastic food wrappers, and plastic drink containers. We are not going to get rid of garbage on our beaches but if we can consistently reduce the “top three” we should be able to reduce the problem.
More on what we can do to help in the final issue.
by Rick O'Connor | Sep 20, 2015
Yea, seafood… who doesn’t like seafood… actually, based on a small scale survey I conducted with marine science students over the last 28 years I have found a slight increase in the number of those who do not. Curious about this, I followed up by asking whether their concern was seafood safety or other. Almost all said they just did not like the taste. Okay… I can take that… there are something I do not like either BUT I LIKE SEAFOOD. The survey also showed that almost every year with young/old or male/female – shrimp was at the top of their favorite list. After shrimp the next 3-4 choices for males was some type of fish. For females it varied – fish, lobster, calamari, to name a few.
Shrimping depends on healthy estuaries.
Photo: NOAA
So what does this have to do with estuaries…
Well, you may not know this but 90% of the commercial important marine species require estuaries for at least part of their life cycles. Just as humans select a neighborhood to live and raise their kids based on safety and schools – “fish parents” find everything they want for their “kids” in an estuary. They are shallow – allowing light to reach much of the bottom where submerged plants, like seagrasses, can grow. These seagrasses provide hiding places and a place for small algae to attach – which is an important food source for many of them. There are other places for them to hide as well – emergent salt marshes and oyster reefs are biologically very productive habitats. Many of the developing larva and juveniles require lower salinities to begin and complete their life cycles; venturing to the open Gulf only when they have developed a tolerance for the higher salinities. The freshwater discharge not only lowers the salinity it also brings nutrients. These nutrients, along with the sunlight reaching much of the water column, produce an abundance of microscopic plankton – food for the young. The nutrients, thermal mixing, low salinities, and variety of habitats provide a combination for one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet – a great place to grow up… and much of it we enjoy eating.
Most of what we consume in the seafood world is divided into shellfish and finfish. Some of it is harvested and sold commercially, some we collect recreationally. In the shellfish world we are talking mollusk and crustaceans – two of the most popular seafood groups on the planet. The mollusk include snails, oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, and cephalopods like squid and octopus. Many of these species live in our estuaries their entire life cycle. Most are slow moving creatures – if they move at all – and have provided a living for some humans, recreation for many, for decades – though the landings of these species are on the decline… more on this in a later issue.
Oysters are one of the more popular shellfish along the panhandle.
Photo: FreshFromFlorida
Crustaceans include the ever popular gulf shrimp. We actually have three different species of bay shrimp we like – white, brown, and pink shrimp. There are other varieties found offshore we are now consuming, but these have been the big three. Blue crab – my personal favorite – is another popular crustacean. Though these are still harvested commercially, “crabbing” with your kids is a long time popular panhandle activity – and the day always ends well with a great meal. Crustaceans are more mobile and conduct small migrations during their life cycles. Shrimp develop within the estuary and then move offshore for breeding where the incoming tide brings the larva back to the estuary. Blue crabs migrate to the head of the bay for breeding and the females return to the lower end of the estuary for egg development and larva release – they may enter the Gulf during this process but tend to stick to the bays for the entire cycle.
The famous Gulf Coast shrimp.
Photo: Mississippi State University
In the finfish world we are talking drum, snapper, grouper, trout, whiting, mullet, flounder, sheepshead, and many more. These species have provided both a living for the commercial fishermen and recreation for families for years. Many species breed and grow within the estuary while others make trips in and out of the bay to complete their cycles. In addition to commercial and family recreation charter fishing has increased as a business along the Gulf coast.
One of the more popular finfish – the grouper.
Photo: Bay County Extension, UF IFAS
We hope you and your family enjoy local seafood from our bays. There are several websites and apps, such as Seafood@Your Fingertips, that can help you locate local seafood – or you can go catch some yourselves! If harvesting recreationally be reminded that there are regulations and licenses required. You can read more about those at MyFWC.com.
by Rick O'Connor | Sep 19, 2015
Most of us remember the string of shark attacks that occurred this past summer in North Carolina; as a matter of fact, according to the International Shark Attack File, it was a record year for that region. Since 2001 there have been 34 shark attacks in North Carolina ranging from 1-5 per year (average 2.4 attacks / year); this year there were 8 attacks. Why the increase?
Reviewing the trend data we can see that the human population has increased, attendance at local beaches has increased, the number of tourists to our beaches has increased, and the shark attacks have also increased. But could the actual number of sharks be increasing as well? A recent report suggest… maybe.
Pregnant Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) cruses sandy seafloor. Credit Florida Sea Grant Stock Photo
Since 1986 NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center has been capturing and logging sharks along the southeast coast of the United States. This year’s survey logged 2,835 sharks between North Carolina and Florida; most were Sandbar’s, Atlantic Sharpnose, Dusky, and Tiger sharks. This is an increase from 1,831 in 2012 and higher than any year since the surveys began.
Are they getting better at catching shark? Maybe… but scientific surveys require that the team use the same protocol each year when conducting such surveys, suggesting that there are in fact more sharks out there. If this is so, why are there more sharks?
Well you first have to confirm that this is in fact the case – sharks are in fact increasing. But scientists can begin looking at data that could explain it. Typically you would begin with their food supply and predation. Though we now know that increase in food supply does not always equate to an increase in predators, it is data that should be reviewed. And what about predators of sharks? Which is typically us.
A review of the NOAA shark landing data indicates that 5 of the 9 shark categories have been closed as of June 22, 2015 because they have landed a significant percentage of their allowed quota for the year. This equates to good fishing… which could mean more sharks. Discussing with local divers in the Pensacola area, they believe they are seeing more sharks – and the increase seems to be closer inshore. It is an El Nino year, and environmental conditions change during these seasons. It is known that environmental changes will certainly trigger changes in fishery numbers and distribution.
As the scientific process works itself out, we will learn more about what is occurring with sharks in U.S. waters. In our state the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission protects 25 species of sharks. Anglers are allowed one non-protected species and no more than 2 per vessel. (Learn More). More should be known once the 2015 season comes to an end. Why shark numbers in North Carolina have increased is not understood at this time but monitoring will continue.
by Rick O'Connor | Jun 5, 2015
For many who are seafood lovers there is nothing like a good grouper sandwich; makes me hungry just to write that. Groupers are members of the one of the largest families of fish in the Gulf of Mexico. There are 33 species in the family Serranidae, which include sea bass and perch, and many are sold as “grouper” in the seafood markets. There are 10 species of searranids that are in the genus Epinephelus and are considered the true groupers. One of these, Epinephelus itajara , is a monster; this is the Goliath Grouper.
Three goliath groupers over wreck in southwest Florida. Photo: Bryan Fluech Florida Sea Grant
As the name states, these fish can reach 6 feet in length and over 700 lbs. Goliath groupers are generally found on structure such as artificial reefs, near drill platforms, and on natural bottom. They tend to stay near the reefs they inhabit but will travel long distances for breeding. Data suggest that the highest concentrations of these fish are in southwest Florida but they disperse across the Gulf and along the Atlantic coast of south Florida. The large spawning aggregations occur offshore, generally from July through September, and the planktonic larva drift into the mangrove estuaries of southwest Florida. Here the young fish live for 5-6 years feeding on the abundance of food found there and then head back offshore searching for reefs to call their own. Many head to the northern Gulf and our area. Though they are large they feed relatively low on the food chain, consuming primarily crustaceans and slow moving reef fish.
They were a huge trophy fish back in the middle 20th century. Fishermen could not resist the chance to have a photograph with one of these behemoths. Because of this popular activity, and the loss of their mangrove nursery grounds due to development, their numbers diminished across the state and today there is a “no harvest” rule for the fish. However some divers are indicating their numbers are increasing and that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission should to revisit the rule.
In response FWC’s research group, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, in St. Petersburg conducts an annual “Goliath Grouper Count”. Modeled after the Christmas Bird Count conducted each year by the Audubon Society, the Goliath Grouper Count occurs during the first week of June. The counts have been occurring in south Florida for a couple of years but for the first time the panhandle will be participating this year. If you are a diver and interested there is a particular protocol that needs to be followed when counting. You can find out more by contacting Rick O’Connor in Pensacola at (850) 475-5230 or Scott Jackson in Panama City at (850) 764-6105 to obtain the protocol and the data sheets. The official count will run between June 1 and June 15.
by Rick O'Connor | Apr 10, 2015
These curious ancient animals have been roaming the waters of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico for over 450 million years. Though they appear dangerous they are quite harmless and are actually more closely related to spiders and scorpions than crabs. Horseshoe crabs are not as common in Pensacola as they are in Panama City and Port St. Joe areas, but once were once found here and occasionally still are. Many coastal states have been concerned by the decline in their numbers. In the Chesapeake area where they were once very common, horseshoe crabs are harvested for their copper-based blood and also as bait for eel fishermen. The copper-based blood contains lysate which has been used to detect bacterial contamination in many drugs, as well as use for the diagnosis for some diseases.
The ancient horseshoe crab. Photo UF/IFAS Communications
Though there is a fishery for them in Florida, the issue with most locals is just the loss of a really neat animal that has been around longer than the dinosaurs,. This time of year, near the full moon, horseshoe crabs begin to gather near nesting beaches to mate and lay eggs. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is asking locals and tourists who find a horseshoe crab to report it. They are interested in sightings of both adults and juveniles (less than 4” in length), the date seen, the time, the location, and type of habitat if possible. To report you can visit their website (www.MyFWC.com), email at FWRI@horseshoe@fwc.state.fl.us , or call 1-866-252-9326
If you have any questions contact your county Sea Grant Agent for more information.
