The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will conduct a final public hearing and consider final action on a plan to improve manatee protection in Brevard County today, the first day of its three-day meeting in Palm Beach Gardens.

Manatee-protection proposals include addition of a slow-speed zone (with a 25-mph zone in the Intracoastal Waterway channel) in the southern and eastern sections of Turnbull Basin. Also, commissioners will consider addition of slow-speed shoreline buffers, 500- to 1,000-feet wide, along most of the Indian River shorelines between the NASA Parkway and Grant.

In the Canaveral Barge Canal and Sykes Creek, commissioners will consider changing the 25 mph areas to slow-speed zones and adding a 1,000-foot slow-speed shoreline buffer in part of Newfound Harbor. The proposal would include addition of an idle-speed zone in the Banana River adjacent to the Canaveral Sewage Treatment Plant, and removal of the 35-mph zone in the
Cocoa Beach area in favor of a slow-speed zone.

In addition, commissioners will consider removal of the 30-mph zone in Mosquito Lagoon and reduction in the sizes of several slow-speed zones in the Indian River, north of the NASA Parkway and in the central Banana River, south of SR 528 and north of the Pineda Causeway.

The commission meeting will take place at the DoubleTree Hotel at Palm Beach Gardens. Sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m. all three days.

Wednesday's agenda includes a final public hearing on new rules to reduce the number of spiny lobster traps in Florida waters by 4 percent annually until the total number of traps is down to 400,000. Reductions would first be accomplished during trap certificate transfers and penalty actions. Further reductions would occur only if the initial process fails to reach the 4 percent annual target, and then would be applied fairly on a pro-rata basis. This approach would replace the 10-percent lobster trap reduction scheduled to occur this year.

The Commission will receive a preliminary stock assessment of Florida's pompano fishery Wednesday and will hold a final public hearing on new rules to manage the commercial harvest of the species. Under proposed rules, qualified fishermen would be allowed to harvest pompano with gill nets in federal waters
adjacent to state waters under certain conditions, which include pompano endorsement or special activity license, vessel length, net specification, and landings requirements. Eligible fishermen also would be able to possess a gill net and pompano in specified state and adjacent federal waters. Commercial fishermen who do not possess a pompano endorsement or special activity license
would be subject to existing gear limitations, as well as a daily harvest, possession and sale limit of 250 fish caught in state waters.

Additional final public hearings will take place Wednesday on rules regarding the artificial reef grants-in-aid program, implementation of the appeals process and other components of the stone crab trap reduction program, and removal of some potential barriers to net fishing by persons with disabilities.

In other marine fisheries actions, commissioners will review and discuss draft rules Thursday to reduce the length of weekend closures to commercial mullet fishing, allow anglers and spear fishers to harvest ocean triggerfish, and amend certain oyster harvest requirements.

The commission will also receive reports on marine-life feeding pros and cons Thursday. Commissioners will hear reports and recommended guidelines from scuba divers who take part in dives during which they feed sharks, individuals who
operate such dive tours and from parties who believe the practice should not be allowed for ecological and public safety reasons. The Commission does not intend to take any regulatory action on the issue at this meeting, however.

Commissioners also plan to hear reports Thursday concerning southwest Florida snook and federal fisheries management issues and will consider its annual marine fisheries work plan.

On the final day of meetings, the commission will consider boundary adjustments for wildlife management areas.

The commission plans to recognize commissioners Barbara Barsh and Tony Moss, whose terms expire Aug. 1, and Bob Black, who is the commission's Hunter Education Volunteer of the Year.

To view this article online, go to: http://floridaconservation.org/whatsnew/precomm-may01-st.htm.