Tag Archives: Pine Island Sound
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
25 years after the Florida net ban – “When they take your gear from you and they tell you that you can’t fish,,,
Generational islander Rhonda Dooley has a burning desire that no one forget the Florida net ban. She says many people still don’t realize what it was really about, and how it continues to affect the island and the families who made their living on the water. “When they take your gear from you and they tell you that you can’t fish,,, She said commercial fishermen are food producers. “There were over 300 fishing families on the island back in the day,” she said, referring to life before the net ban. “Everyone had their hand in fishing — that was all they did and all they talked about.” >click to read< 13:04
