The park unveiled the latest version of the long-delayed plan this week during a presentation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in Tallahassee. While it makes no specific recommendations, it outlines a range of potential steps that park managers hope will reverse a sharp decline in fish populations.

Possible measures range from minor actions such as increasing education programs to major changes -- downsizing the commercial fleet, setting new size limits on popular species or even imposing ''spatial closures,'' also known as no-fishing zones.

Last summer, when park managers informally floated the idea of eliminating fishing in small portions of Biscayne's 270 square miles, which stretch from Biscayne Bay to the shallow reefs just north of Key Largo, the backlash was immediate from sport-fishing groups and the state.

Linda Canzanelli, superintendent of Biscayne National Park, downplayed the possibilities of imposing controversial zones. For one thing, an agreement the park signed last year with the commission, which sets fishing regulations in state waters, blocks such zones for at least five years unless both parties agree they're needed.

''There will be no proposed closings,'' Canzanelli said. She said the park aimed to restore chronically overfished stocks of grouper and snapper with the least impact on the public. The plan, already two years in the making, faces more public hearings and will likely take at least a year to complete.

''Our goal would be to try those steps that have the most public support first to see if that has a positive influence,'' she said. ``It's only after those didn't succeed that we would jump to one of the less acceptable ones.''

The plan, originally scheduled to be ready last fall, includes no specific rules or maps. Instead, the park has identified 14 key issues and a range of proposals. Among them:

• Commercial fishing: Proposals range from capping the fleet working park waters, already down to 1,695 boats in 2001 from 3,135 in 1999, to reducing it 30 percent more through attrition. The park also is considering confining shrimp trawlers to specific areas.

The purpose would be to reduce damage to the bay bottom and cut ''by-catch,'' juvenile fish and other creatures killed by netting.

• Sport fishing: To revive depleted stocks, recreational anglers could see new limits on the size and number of popular fish like snapper and grouper.

To protect the ''private and tranquil'' experience of fishing for bonefish and other species on grass flats, a major industry in Biscayne Bay, the park is considering establishing no-motor zones. Only electric motors or poling would be allowed in select areas.

• Lobster diving: To reduce the ''considerable'' damage to coral reefs from the annual two-day lobster mini season, the park is considering steps from education programs to seasonal closures. On Thursday, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, at the park's request, agreed to move toward halving the daily catch limit to six lobsters -- the same as in the Florida Keys.

• Spearfishing: Proposals include allowing only hand-powered guns like Hawaiian slings and closing some areas or even the entire park.

The park will solicit public opinions on the proposals at a series of meetings in South Florida next month. State regulators, who are consulting on the plan, may also raise some red flags.

COMMENTS BY MOOSE

Linda said "the park aimed to restore chronically overfished stocks of grouper and snapper with the least impact on the public." Well then Linda, eliminate all commercial fishing inside the park. I believe that there would be an instantaneous restoration of overfished stocks.

Your proposal to reduce the number of commercial fishermen from 1700 boats by 30% is going to happen anyway, because those guys have depleted the resource to a point where they can't catch enough to make a living anyway. And to eliminate shrimp trawling completely would be the only decision to consider. One errant pass by a trawler destroys more coral than all the recreational lobster divers in history.

Commercial fishing has caused the problems, and should shoulder the burden of all restoration inside the park. I don't think that eliminating my A B Biller spear gun will have any impact on the fish population inside the park once you eliminate the commercial divers sucking the reef clean like a vacuum cleaner.

So, Linda, have fun listening to the commercial lobby flood you with lies and promises of re-election funds. And take a trip to the Everglades National Park, where commercial fishing is prohibited. Please, get those gluttons out of the Biscayne National Park.

Sincerely, 

Moose

www.seahunters.com

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