By Fred Garth

Photo Credit: Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation

St. Petersburg, Florida. The BP oil spill saga, a fledgling US aquaculture industry and contentious red snapper management issues were some of the hot topics on tap recently at the Guy Harvey Fisheries Symposium at the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus.   

The two-day gathering on November 13-14 examined a broad range of issues facing the oceans, including the invasive lionfish explosion as well as the millions of dollars in RESTORE Act funding set to be allocated to the five states bordering the Gulf of Mexico.

Headlined by famed artist and conservationist, Dr. Guy Harvey, the speakers included an all-star cast of marine scientists, non-governmental organizations, commercial and recreational fishing representatives as well as officials from state and federal regulatory agencies and local school groups. The panel covering red snapper management included the president of Florida’s Coastal Conservation Association, Jeff Miller, who represents recreational fishermen and longtime commercial fisherman Jason De La Cruz. It was rounded out by Dr. Roy Crabtree of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Dr. Greg Stunz of Texas A&M University, Dr. Will Patterson of the University of South Alabama and Dr. Bob Shipp, who was director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Mobile, Alabama for more than 30 years. Much of the discussion on the second day of the symposium focused on the Restore Act, which is being funded by penalties paid by BP and TransOcean for their roles in the Deepwater Horizon disaster.  A panel with representatives from each state as well as NOAA, outlined the complex funding mechanism and the process of how monies will be awarded. RESTORE is an acronym for Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012.

Don Kent, President of the Hubbs SeaWorld Institute led the panel on aquaculture highlighting the need to promote better seafood growing conditions in the US.

The US imports some 80% of the seafood it consumes yet only contributes about 1% to the planet’s overall aquaculture production.

One of the most publicized and pressing issues facing the coastal areas in the Southeastern US and Caribbean is the rapid expansion of invasive lionfish. Native to the Indo-Pacific, lionfish were accidentally introduced to Florida waters in the 1980s.

The symposium was sponsored by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Guy Harvey Magazine, Fresh from Florida, the Florida Institute of Oceanography, the Gulf & South Atlantic Fisheries Association, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and the Florida Attractions Association.

The third Guy Harvey Fisheries Symposium is tentatively slated for September 2015. www.guyharveyfisheriessymposium.com