Tag Archives: decline started in 1994
Commercial fishing is dying in Southwest Florida. Can it be saved?
Out on the waters of Pine Island Sound, Shane Dooley is home. “Dad built me a boat when I was 12 years old,” he said. “Been out here fishing with my buddies. Been all over.”Dooley is from a true fishing family — three generations worth. First, his grandfather became a commercial fisherman, and then his father, Mike Dooley, who has been catching mullet for some 50 to 60 years now — long before everything changed. The decline started in 1994, the Dooleys said, when Florida banned gill nets after a statewide vote. Many commercial fishermen, still sour over it today, said those campaigning to ban the nets misled voters about the impact the equipment had on marine life. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:53
