I am familiar with the forgotten coast. To be exact I am somewhat familiar with the forgotten coast and very familiar with the Big Bend area to the east of there. If you head east from Apalachicola you go through Carrabelle, Panacea then St. Marks. I have friends in Woodville, Port St. Joe, Mexico Beach, Waukulla, Wewahitchka, Panacea and St. Marks. I have fished in and around St.Marks for years. The issue with this ecosystem is complicated. Weather events, red tides and water restrictions have all played a part. The biggest culprit is over fishing/harvesting of resources. The area was harvested at unsustainable levels for years. In the sixties, seventies and eighties there were little or no restrictions on trout, redfish, flounder, scallops, oysters,snapper,grouper or practically anything you could harvest from the sea. Man being naturally greedy animal could not help himself but to take as much as he could harvest whether he needed it or not. Keeping ridiculous amounts of seafood. Hundreds even thousands of trout/reds/snapper/grouper/flounder were kept without regard to size or seasons. Then came the commercials boats who were possibly greedier than the private boats and only in it for the money. The size and numbers of fish and shellfish declined. The hatchery of the Florida flats was damn near fished out. FWC put restrictions/limits on practically all species. Fishermen/locals/guides howled. They had somewhat of a point because the commercial guys were less restricted than the private fishermen. I was fishing these areas during those times and you could tell the fishery was stressed. FWC and USDA tightened down on all fishing. Trout limits went to 10 fish 14" minimum, reds 2 fish 18"minimum. People screamed that was the going to be the end of everything related to fishing in the Big Bend. The population started to stabilize but not grow. Stricter restrictions were put on 5-trout 15"-19" (one per boat over 19"), 1-red 18"-27" slot. Lots of people don't think it is worth it to charter with such low limits. Personally I saw a difference in quality (size) beginning about two seasons after the first regulations were enforced. I was down there this past November on my boat with my fishing buddy and after I found the right pockets of keepers we caught our limit both days of some of the best trout I have seen in years (including a 26"sow I released). Point is man is a greedy creature. He only cares about himself with little regard to the natural world around him. He has polluted the water with runoff into Tampa Bay that blooms red tide earlier, longer and wider spreads than ever before. Threatening one of the most productive fish hatcheries in world. The great grass flats of the Big Bend. We are paying for the sins of our fathers from the last century. This applies to shellfish too. It is coming home to roost. I am against government regulations and over reach but when people won't regulate themselves it is sometimes necessary. This is from my 30+ years of observation not some left wing tree hugger.
bittersoutherner.com
