Fear Spreads in the Manatee County Fishing Industry

CORTEZ VILLAGE -- Even if the oil from the recent spill doesn’t come to shore in Manatee County, the effects on the fishing and seafood industry could be devastating. While some fisherman leave their businesses fate to be decided by the winds, others prepare for the worst and make alternative plans.

“The oil spill is a very big concern. The gulf of Mexico has never seen a catastrophe of these proportions,” said charter captain Mike Ercoli. “It has already had a large impact on my business.”

Fresh catch at Ocean Harves Market

According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), commercial fisherman harvested more than 1 billion pounds of finfish and shellfish from the Gulf of Mexico in 2008. The Cortez Fishing Village is not only a relic of Manatee County history, but it has also been a big seafood supplier to places all over the state.

Karen Bell, owner of Starfish Company Market and Restaurant, says that dependent on the weather and season, they bring in thousands of pounds of fresh seafood every week.

“During bait season, we can bring in 75,000 pounds of seafood a week. Other seasons, it could be 5,000 pounds.”

Some of their biggest sellers are; grouper, which are caught year round; pompano and red herring, during the spring and summer; and mullet in the fall. Her fishing fleet is gone for ten days at a time. They travel all over the gulf in search of a good catch.

“I think the oil spill will defiantly have an impact on our business,“ said Karen Bell.  

Cortez Kitchen is another big seafood exporter in the area.

“We average about 20 to 30 thousand pounds for each trip," said Marty Lee who works as fishing crew. "We go about three to 10 miles offshore. How often we go depends on the weather and the season.”

The business catches mostly red herring, a baitfish similar to a sardine, that gets sold live to bait shops. They also make chum, a brand called Killer Bait, which gets shipped to the Keys and to the East Coast.

Unfortunately, the Red Herring are migratory and head north this time of year.

Fresh fish market at the Starfish Co.

“They are headed right up to that oil spill,” said Marty Lee.

"They can’t operate that herring net if it is filled with oil,” said James Lee, who works in the Cortez Kitchen Fish Market.

“The entire supply of Gulf shrimp came from code zero, right where the oil spill is,” said James.

The Gulf is home to thousands of fish, crabs, oysters, shrimp and many other species of seafood. It is an extremely important biological and economic area in terms of seafood production.

Alice Sistak, who also works in the market, is worried the oil spill will cause the price of seafood to skyrocket.

”Even if it doesn’t affect the seafood,” Sistak said, “they will raise their prices just because they can and blame it on the spill.”

In the capitalist economy that we live in, there really isn’t much of a choice. Karen Bell said that if the catch is scarce, she will be forced to raise the prices.

“It’s supply and demand. Also, NOAA may be potentially closing other areas,” she said.

In an effort to take water and seafood samples, NOAA recently closed down a large portion of the Gulf to fishing. The restricted area was the region most affected by the spill. The purpose was to ensure the safety of seafood and fishing activities.

A NOAA press release stated that there should be no health risk with seafood currently on the market. After the oil spill, NOAA is working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the State Government to ensure seafood safety, by assessing whether seafood is tainted or contaminated to levels that pose a risk to human health.

Local captain Kevin Farmer is already feeling the effects. He had a trip planned, but had to cancel due to the oil spill and the closure.

Cortez Fishing Village

“It is a very sad thing to have to shut the fishery down due to this,” he said. “Charter captains, shrimpers and vacationers are all getting the hit. Venice, LA is a spawning ground for over 600 species, so we will see what happens.”

Restaurants that use fresh local seafood are also impacted and worried about the effects. Ocean Harvest Seafood Market is a local restaurant that utilizes the Gulf as their prime source of merchandise. They catch the fish they sell themselves, going from 100-150 miles offshore in search of fish for their business.

“We are planning ahead,” owner Mike Guccione said. “We already have contacts (on the east coast) and are preparing to move our fleet over there, but switching will cost more because of the cost of transportation. It is all supply and demand in this business.”

James Lee, of Cortez, thinks that they might have to go evern further to get their seafood supply.

“Everyone is counting on the east coast of Florida," he said. “But with the loop current, the east coast could be affected too.”

According to Accuweather.com, the Loop Current is a concern because it links to the Gulf Stream, carrying warm water northward along the Atlantic. If the oil slick were to get caught in the Loop Current, it could be washed into the Gulf Stream and go around Florida and up part of the East Coast. Since the slick is still over 100 miles away from the current, it would appear not to be an immediate concern.

Levi Franklin weighs the days catch at AP Bell Fish Co.

However, small local current spirals, known as eddies, often break off of the Loop Current and could cause the slick to wander and spread just about anywhere. Businesses that try to support locally caught fish may be forced to bring in product from places such as Indonesia. This could be devastating to an already struggling local industry.

“The consequences (of the oil spill) are so awful we are putting it out of our minds,“ said Mike Guccione. “Counting on the Loop Current (to keep the oil out of the area) is like whistling in the wind.”