UF r orr rr< 7k ~ Seeee II AS Fxten»ion Flarida January-February, 2011 Volume 52, Number 1 Photo: Bryan Fluech Webinar Schedule 12:15 PM 12145 PM Mar 16- Shrimp May 18- Snapper Sept 21-Spiny Lobster Nov 16- Oysters Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival a Smashing Success The Cortez Fishing festival attracted a crowd estimated at 25,000. Festival goers seemed to be delighted with the move of the Festival to the east end of town. Approximately $75,000 was raised to support the expansion and restoration of the FISF Preserve. I l o lrr~rrrrrr« i! I » »I;nr I A ri««liii» il «ron«ei r II. ' !» .»i I Irrrrl ll I» rrr »r lr»!rr rrr rrr;«rrlr » rro l r i Pni i l« «i«rr I» o lira r! ri»i il iir Inn» r! i in;in I iiihor ior» i no» ii»IF i i ii»li i lri il..ii»l rr»r«rrrinrri ihrir liiiro!i in rrl n r» I ierrr»i arri r irl! reipo«rii r ieo, re« I, o il ii, reli «»»:r«e, lii«rhilrrl, ~ei, ieirr il »rerrrrrr rr» i»riiirrl sr'!11!I>. 11:tfi»11i'il »i! '11!. I» II!I«'rrl «Irlrrl »ri lt .'!!III ,11 ill». I I!«I92'i I11«! il! X 'I le Ill I' ', » !l «I;Irl' « I .1 '.Ilail ill «l le«, I Ill «l >lr 92I I I 92I I l,r. II X , I i i!i l r X < Xl I ni «riiro ! incr irhe I a err~ »n I'»i rrnr,;rrr I I «rr li i l i in! r»r»i ii rrer ii P«r irin Florida Seafood Safety and Sustainability 2011 Brown Bag Lunch Webinar Series This FREE webinar series will educate seafood lovers about the sustainability and safety associated with some of Florida's most commercially valuable seafood products. The series will help consumers make informed decisions about purchasing and eating Florida Seafood. You will also learn how seafood makes it from the ocean to your table and how it is managed. Never participated in a webinar? Trust me, it is pretty easy. For more information and to sign up, contact Bryan Fluech, Collier County Sea Grant Extension Agent at 1 303 1 7th Street A'est Palmetto, FL 3422 l 941! 722-4524 F' AX 94] ! 721-6608 F.-mail: jsmarhtclri'ufl.edu N' 1l "ly. I' l S c 't'ai r B 11 t.0 r g
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UF r orr rr<7k ~ SeeeeII AS Fxten»ion Flarida
January-February, 2011
Volume 52, Number 1
Photo: Bryan Fluech
Webinar Schedule 12:15 PM � 12145 PM
Mar 16- Shrimp May 18- Snapper Sept 21-Spiny Lobster Nov 16- Oysters
Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival a Smashing Success
The Cortez Fishing festival attracted a crowd estimated at 25,000. Festival goers seemed to be
delighted with the move of the Festival to the east end of town. Approximately $75,000 was
raised to support the expansion and restoration of the FISF Preserve.
I l o lrr~rrrrrr« i! I » »I;nr I A ri««liii» il «ron«ei r II . ' !» .»i I Irrrrl ll I» rrr »r lr»!rr rrr rrr;«rrlr » rro l r i Pni i l« «i«rr I» o lira r! ri»i il iir Inn» r! i in;in I iiihor ior» i no»ii»IF i i ii»li i lri il..ii»l rr»r«rrrinrri ihrir liiiro! i in rrl n r» I ierrr»i arri r irl! reipo«r ii r ieo, re« I, o il ii, reli «»»:r«e, lii«rhilrrl, ~ei, ieirr il »rerrrrrr rr» i»riiirrl
sr'!11!I>. 11:tfi»11i'il »i! '11!. I» II!I«'rrl «Irlrrl »ri lt .'!!III ,11 ill». I I!«I92'i I�11«�! il! X 'I le Ill I' ', » !l «I;Irl' « I .1 '.Ilail ill «l le«, I Ill «l >lr 92I I I 92I I l,r. II X ,I i i!i l r X < Xl I ni «riiro ! incr irhe I a err~ »n I'»i rrnr,;rrr I I «rr li i l i in! r»r»i ii rrer ii P«r irin
Florida Seafood Safety and Sustainability
2011 Brown Bag Lunch Webinar Series
This FREE webinar series will educate seafood lovers about the sustainability and
safety associated with some of Florida's most commercially valuable seafood
products. The series will help consumers make informed decisions about
purchasing and eating Florida Seafood. You will also learn how seafood makes it
from the ocean to your table and how it is managed.
Never participated in a webinar? Trust me, it is pretty easy. For more information
and to sign up, contact Bryan Fluech, Collier County Sea Grant Extension Agent at
1 303 1 7th Street A'est
Palmetto, FL 3422 l
941! 722-4524
F' AX 94] ! 721-6608F.-mail: jsmarhtclri'ufl.edu
N' 1l "ly. I' l S c 't'ai r B 11 t. 0 r g
Did Fishermen Discover the New World' ?
By John Stevely
This is amazing. Basque fishermen folks from a region
in northwest Spain and part of France! were harvesting
cod from the grand banks off of Newfoundland and the ll',U.S. centuries before Christopher Columbus claimed
discovery of the new world in 1492. Their production of cod Atlantic cod � Gadus morhuaproduced great wealth and was a source of mystery to other
European countries who couldn't figure out where they were fishing. When Jacques Cartier "discovered"
the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in 1534, he also found a fleet of 1,000 Basque fishing boats. These
fishermen were indeed intent on keeping their fishing grounds a secret! Sounds like some of my modern
day fishing buddies.
Why was this such a valuable secret? Dried salted cod was an incredibly valuable item of commerce for a
number of reasons. During the Middle Ages food spoilage was a chronic problem. Properly dried and
salted cod is an extremely durable food product. Because it has a very low fat content it will last much
longer than other dried and salted fish. Also, when properly restored by soaking in water it produces a
tasty white flaky flesh. Furthermore, it was in even greater demand due to the establishment of
"fasting" days by the medieval church which forbade the consumption of red meat on these days. These
fasting days included every Friday, 40 days of Lent, and other days of note on the religious calendar, and
consequently totaled almost half of the days in the year. Thus there was a huge market.
If I remember my history correctly, the reason Columbus was sailing around the world was to discover a
new route to the sources of spice in Asia. Spice was so valuable because it made suspect food more
palatable. Makes you realize how important the invention of refrigeration was in modern times.
Once the discovery was out, there was a sort of "gold rush" for cod. By the middle 1500s 60% of all fish
eaten in Europe was cod. The cod was so important to New England's early economy that a carved
wooden cod was hung in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in Boston.
This is certainly a piece of history I was not aware of. We don't hear much about the seafaring nature of
the Basque people. Perhaps this is not so surprising, as the Basque people are an enigmatic group. The
origin of their language is unknown and the origin of the people is not found in recorded history. These
are the folks that invented the unique game of jai alai.
The information in this article comes from the book "Cod" by Mark Kurlansky � I highly recommend it for
some fascinating reading.
What is present day status of Atlantic Cod? Today, this stock is reported to have decreased by 96%
since the 1850s. Moratoriums in the region, in place on and off for the past few decades, do not seem to
have worked, and the stock has been depleted to the point where scientists are unsure if it will ever
recover. Now that the cod stocks have markedly decreased, their prey herring, shrimp and snow crabs!
have had a population explosion, and now support valuable fisheries.
Protecting Florida's Spiny Lobster Fishery
As commercial and recreational landings of Florida's spiny
lobsters continue to remain below historical levels, new
findings about the lobster's ecology are helping guide
management strategies to benefit future populations and
the fishing industry.
Spiny lobsters are one of the largest commercial fisheries in
Florida, and one of the most economically valuable in the
Caribbean. In the five years leading up to 2001, commercial
fishermen in Florida landed an average of nearly 7 million
pounds of spiny lobsters each year, worth on average more
than 528 million dockside.
And then, landings dropped off sharply. For the past 10
years, commercial landings have averaged just 4 million
pounds each year, generating about 520 million dockside.
The Caribbean spiny lobster is one of Florida's mostvaluable fisheries. UF/IFAS!
View this article and otherA virus contributes to the decline
features at Florida Sea Grant,
www.f Iseagra nt.org.Don Behringer, a marine ecologist at the University of
Florida, has been studying the effects of the lethal PaV1
virus that has been killing juvenile lobsters and potentially hurting the commercial and recreational
fisheries. Behringer, in fact, discovered the virus while sampling juvenile lobster populations in the
Florida Keys in 1999.
The virus, the first identified for any lobster in the world, has since been reported in Mexico, Belize,
Cuba, St. Croix, and St. Kitts, and is suspected to be widespread in the Caribbean. Behringer's ongoing
research continues to study the transmission of the virus � how it is spread between individuals in the
population as well as on a larger scale throughout the Caribbean.
Recently, Behringer used Florida Sea Grant funding to determine how lobster traps, the primary means
of capture by the commercial fishery in Florida, could impede trap function or contribute to the
prevalence of PaV1.
"We asked if current practices in the fishery compromise lobster resistance to infection, increase disease
transmission rates, or if the presence of infected lobsters affects the capture efficiency of traps,"
Behringer said.
"We knew that the fishing industry and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission would
benefit by using the results to manage the fishery with respect to PaV1 infection dynamics."
Indirect impacts on juvenile lobster survival
One of Behringer's primary objectives in the study was to determine if a trapped lobster carrying the
PaV1 virus would attract other lobsters in the trap, or if healthy lobsters could detect the diseased
lobster and avoid the trap.
Traps exploit the "gregarious," or social nature of young and adult lobsters, because they typically
contain other lobsters, but are impenetrable to most predators. In the natural environment, Behringer
says, this behavior affects the ability of young lobsters to survive into adulthood.
"Lobsters view traps as nothing more than a shelter from which only the larger lobsters cannot escape,"
Behringer said. "Small, under-sized lobsters are capable of moving freely into and out of the traps, but
we were unsure about trap use between healthy and diseased lobsters."
Behringer's previous research had shown that healthy lobsters were able to detect and avoid lobsters
infected with the PaV1 virus, most likely through a chemical cue. Recent findings confirm this.! With the
assistance of local commercial fishermen, the research team deployed traps containing either a diseased
or a healthy lobster. Then, a week later, they pulled the traps to see how they functioned.