Mother Nature continues to fascinate

Photo by Capt. Budd Neviaser for NSBNEWS.net. Cutline: These wild turkeys in New Smyrna Beach avoided becoming a Thanksgiving dinner.

These No Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was detected in the samples collected from Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River lagoon, or the Banana River, thus far this month.

Offshore charter trips report kingfish action on the party grounds and spots of equal depth and subsurface terrain as well as cobia both on top and on the bottom. Action is very good with catches of gag and red grouper, genuine Red Snapper, triggerfish, lane, mutton and mangrove snapper, and the tasty black sea bass. In the surf the whiting and bluefish continue to produce some great fishing. Black drum, pompano, Gaff-top sail cats and an occasional sheepshead are also being caught. Best baits seem to be sand fleas and clams.

In Ponce Inlet, black drum, red drum, pompano, bluefish, whiting and large snook and an occasional flounder are producing most of the action. In the Halifax River, black drum are still good around the bridges as it is for some small snook. There are even reports of a few pompano in the river. In the creeks, redfish and snook are biting well on shrimp. Redfishing continues to be hot in the Tomoka area using artificial and real shrimp near the oyster bars. Small tarpon are still frequently being hooked up in the Tomoka area.

Also in the river, “Capt” Rich A.,” another boisterous yankee “wanna-be” guide, boasted that he has been catching a lot of salt water catfish also known as “hardheads" (probably after this guy that fishes so hard for them). When I asked him why he was the only person, whom I have heard of in over 45 years of saltwater fishing, who targeted this particular species. He replied that he was practicing his “catch and release skills.”

I told him that since I knew that he has been fishing for saltwater catfish since he moved to Florida a decade ago and surely he must have had the techniques down to a science after a decade of practice. He replied that he was slow to learn and his lack of coordination made it difficult for him to master the technique. I suggested to him that while I sympathized with his difficulty in getting his skills accomplished, he surely must have mastered the technique after a decade of effort, especially when he was catching 10-25 saltwater catfish a day. I also suggested that perhaps he was doing better than he expected.

He immediately replied that he was not catching that many fish. “Then what is the problem? “ I queried. “I can only catch one or two catfish a day," he replied."When I try to release them they fall into the boat and I am afraid to touch them when they are alive. So then I go home and after I am sure they are dead, I eat them."

I shot back: "You eat them? Nobody eats those things.” Rich A. replied, “I like them with my eggs for breakfast.” As I walked away, I muttered to myself, ”No wonder yankees like bluefish, catfish, and mackerel.”

Capt. John Tarr says the water in the lagoon has cleared considerably with the early morning water temperatures in the mid-50s, warming to the high-60s. during the afternoon. The redfish are a hit or miss situation. They are cruising the sand bars and shore lines. Less than 10 percent of the baits throw are eaten.

Trout are lying over the sand spots warming themselves during the day. While the large schools of redfish have not appeared as yet the black drum seem to be schooling near the lagoon.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) proposed a draft recently that would establish six regional closed seasons to the harvest of blue crabs with traps. These closures would extend up to 10 days each to help efforts to identify and retrieve lost and abandoned blue crab traps from Florida waters, which have been cited as a problem in the blue crab fishery due to their interference with other fishing activities and because they can continue to trap crabs and fish when they are not maintained.

Additionally they pose navigational hazards to boaters, damage sensitive habitats, and are unsightly in the marine environment. It is illegal to tamper with properly licensed and maintained blue crab traps and frequently lost and abandoned traps cannot easily be distinguished from legal traps, so they often remain in the water indefinitely. The regional closures of up to 10 days each would allow authorized groups to collect lost and abandoned blue crab traps that remain in the water after fishermen remove their working traps during the closed periods.

After both public input and .consultation with the Blue Crab Advisory Board, there will be an annual closure in all waters of the St. John’s River system from January 16-25 and all other coastal waters from the Georgia-Florida state line to the southern end of Volusia County from August 20-29.

Other area data may be learned by contacting the FWC. Except for the St. John’s River system closure, all of the proposed blue crab trap harvest closures would extend from the shoreline out to three nautical miles and include all inland waters in the particular region. The closures are only for standard blue crab traps. The harvest of blue crabs by other means such as dip nets and fold-up traps would be permitted during these closures. The closures also will apply to recreational harvesters, who are using standard blue crab traps unless the traps are attached too private property. A final public hearing will take place in Destin in February.

At the latest Key West FWC commission meeting, the commissioners elected Rodney Barreto as chairman and Kathy Barco as vice chairman for 2009. At the same meeting, the FWC approved a land swap proposal offering 10 acres of pasture for 40 acres of wetlands. Final approval is at the hands of the state’s Acquisition and Restoration Council, the governor, and the cabinet. The state-owned 10-acre parcel and its utility easements at FWC’s Tenoroc Fish Management Area near Lakeland have little value for wildlife habitat but they are attractive for possible development by the Saddle Creek Corporation. In exchange, Saddle Creek Corporation is offering 40 acres of wetlands adjacent to Tenoroc.

Florida law does allow the state to exchange its lands if the land is no longer needed for conservation purposes. The acquired land is of equal or greater value than the state owned land and provides a net benefit to the state.

The FWC approved new rules to increase the minimum size limit for the Greater Amberjack and gray triggerfish in the Gulf of Mexico state waters, which will correspond to the new federal water regulations in place beyond the nine mile state waters. Due to “overfishing,” the new rules increase the minimum size limit to 30 inches to the fork on the Greater Amberjack and 14 inches to the fork on the gray triggerfish. The rules apply both to the recreational as well as the commercial angler. In addition they FWC approved rule amendments for gag grouper in the Gulf of Mexico state waters that are consistent with the interim regulations in the Gulf’s federal waters.

Once again, “overfishing” has brought about a two-gag grouper in the daily five grouper aggregate limit per angler. Additionally, no gag grouper may be recreationally landed between Feb. 1 and March 31.

The FWC did approve a rule allowing more recreational anglers to harvest more red grouper in Gulf state waters by bumping the numbers from one to two fish. Further, the FWC proposed a draft to change the recreational harvest season for Genuine Red Snapper in the Gulf of Mexico state waters to change the recreational red snapper harvest season from April 15 through Oct. 31 to the new period of June 1 to Sept. 30. This will coincide with the federal rules. All of these rules go into effect Jan. 1.

Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me. As I rode with a friend down Cow Creek Road, and as we approached the bridge, we could not help notice that a very large bird was flying just above the level of the top of the truck we were in. As it got closer, we suddenly realized that it was an osprey and carrying an otter in its talons and the otter did not seem happy and was thrashing about in the air.

Either because the otter was too heavy for the bird of prey or it did not like the retaliating mannerisms of the otter’s mouth, the osprey dropped the otter onto the shoulder of the road and continued to take flight. We stopped and examined the shoulder for the otter but to no avail. He must have hit the ground running and disappeared. I am sure hat was a once in a lifetime experience for me.

Mother Nature continues to fascinate me with her ways.

Wild pigs seem to be everywhere including one sow that I witnessed this past week with her young rooting along a wooded portion of the median of I-95. This is obviously a very precarious spot for both the animals and well as drivers on I-95. There is no closed season on wild pigs but those hunting those animals best take caution as passed down by the FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission). These animals can very rarely cause Brucellosis. According to Department of Health and Human Services Centers of Disease Control and Prevention as posted on the internet, Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria of the genus Brucella.

These bacteria are primarily passed among animals, and they cause disease in many different vertebrates. Various Brucella species affect sheep, goats, cattle, deer, elk, pigs, dogs and several other animals. Humans become infected by coming in contact with animals or animal products that are contaminated with these bacteria.

In humans, brucellosis can cause a range of symptoms that are similar to the flu and may include fever, sweats, headaches, back pains, and physical weakness. Severe infections of the central nervous systems or lining of the heart may occur. Brucellosis can also cause long-lasting or chronic symptoms that include recurrent fevers, joint pain, and fatigue.

Brucellosis is not very common in the U.S, where 100 to 200 cases occur each year. But brucellosis can be very common in countries where animal disease control programs have not reduced the amount of disease among animals.

Although brucellosis can be found worldwide, it is more common in countries that do not have good standardized and effective public health and domestic animal health programs. Areas currently listed as high risk are the Mediterranean Basin (Portugal, Spain, Southern France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and North Africa), South and Central America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

Unpasteurized cheeses, sometimes called "village cheeses," from these areas may represent a particular risk for tourists. Humans are generally infected in one of three ways: eating or drinking something that is contaminated with Brucella, breathing in the organism (inhalation) or having the bacteria enter the body through skin wounds. The most common way to be infected is by eating or drinking contaminated milk products.

When sheep, goats, cows, or camels are infected, their milk is contaminated with the bacteria. If the milk is not pasteurized, these bacteria can be transmitted to persons who drink the milk or eat cheeses made from it.

Inhalation of Brucella organisms is not a common route of infection, but it can be a significant hazard for people in certain occupations, such as those working in laboratories where the organism is cultured. Inhalation is often responsible for a significant percentage of cases in abattoir employees. Contamination of skin wounds may be a problem for persons working in slaughterhouses or meat packing plants or for veterinarians. Hunters may be infected through skin wounds or by accidentally ingesting the bacteria after cleaning deer, elk, moose, or wild pigs that they have killed.

Is there a way to prevent the disease? Yes. Do not consume unpasteurized milk, cheese, or ice cream while traveling. If you are not sure whether the dairy product is pasteurized, don't eat it. Hunters and animal herdsman should use rubber gloves when handling viscera (the internal organs) of animals. Furthermore, the FWC recommends cooking the meat to over 170 degrees and handling the raw meat with rubber gloves. Again, according to the CDC report, this is apparently a very rare disease in our country with only 100-200 cases a year frequently in people working in laboratories with the organism.

It has been written; “The outdoors is a constant reminder of the democracy of life, of humility, and of human failure. The forces of nature discriminate for no man.” So whether you charter, ride a head boat, run your own vessel, stay in the river, surf fish, or fish from shore or a bridge -- there are fish to be caught. Fishing is not a matter of life or death, it is so much more important than that.

Tight lines,
Capt. Budd
<*)//////><