The Florida Guides Association has taken exception to the fact that the Gulf Council has lumped heavy fishing sinkers (those over 8 ounces) and small-boat anchors typically employed by recreational and charter boats in with commercial fishing bottom trawls, dredge trawls and longline gear.

In a letter to members of the Gulf Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service, Florida Guides Association Senior Vice President Troy Sapp asks that the Council provide scientific data that identifies damage to live bottom caused by the recreational and charter sectors in waters of the HAPCs.

Sapp goes on to question the Council’s wisdom in grouping anchoring prohibitions in with regulations on bottom trawls, suggesting that it is like comparing a firecracker to an atomic bomb in relationship to damage caused.

FS