crab trappers steamed

REEL TIME: A catalyst for change

FROM PAGE 16 Resources, agriculturalist Alan Jones, business groups like the Argus Foundation, and various government officials. These include Sarasota’s Sustainability Manager, Stevie Monte Freeman and John Ryan, Sarasota County’s environmental manager. Thaxton credits Dave Shafer with the concept of the online adaptive format and Suau and the Shafers with researching and writing the playbook.

Composed of 10 chapters and 43 recommended activities, the playbook focuses on the ways Sarasota County can address water quality in local bays and estuaries. While written for Sarasota, the playbook was intentionally designed to be customizable and adaptive for use by other municipalities. According to Thaxton, “This Community Playbook for Healthy Waterways focuses, prioritizes, and coordinates critical activities we must undertake to realize our community’s vision for clean and healthy waters.”

The importance of addressing the degradation of our waterways cannot be overstated. As I’ve written in this column many times, our waters are at a critical crossroads and time is of the essence. Efforts like this give stakeholders a vital tool and framework for change, but your voice is critical to its success. I encourage everyone to engage local politicians and decision-makers, demanding common-sense actions to assure our coastal waters are clean, clear, healthy and sustainable. Consider joining, donating to and working with local environmental and advocacy nonprofits like Suncoast Waterkeeper and Sarasota Bay Watch. This is an achievable goal but requires the political will of our elected officials. We either address this now or push it down the road as a much larger burden to our children. Our fishing and economic future and that of future generations depends on it.

For more information, contact Greg Luberecki at gluberecki@gulfcoastcf.org or 301-466-9594.

Weather finally cooperates

CAPTAIN DAVE WHITE

The weather this week has been phenomenal! We had to get through some cold and windy ones to get here though. We here at Anna Maria Charters have been both inshore and offshore this week.

Offshore, the mangrove snapper have been exceptionally fired up. They are big, and happy to take a bait. The amberjack are pretty easy right now as well. These are out of season. But these fish will always put a client’s ego in check! Red grouper fishing is also good. We were happy to get out there and spend time out of cell range.

Inshore, pompano, sheepshead, seatrout, some snook, and an exceptionally strong redfish bite has kept us busy. Sheepshead

BY CINDY LANE

SUN STAFF WRITER | clane@amisun.com

HOLMES BEACH - Well-intentioned volunteers who held a cleanup of the Spanish Rocks reef off Anna Maria Island on Monday have Cortez stone crab trappers up in arms after crab traps were removed from the water with the trash. "It's against the law to touch a crab trap that's not yours," Cortez crabber Mark Coarsey said, after seeing wooden traps piled on the beach in a television news report Monday night. "Unbeknownst to local commercial fishermen, divers removed some traps," he said, adding that many crabbers wait until the end of the season in May to remove

CAPTAIN DAVE WHITE | SUBMITTED Holmes Beach resident J.B. Shuck, and his father-in-law, Bob Cimino, visiting from Omaha, hoist a pair of scrappy redfish. Caught with Captain David White, of Anna Maria Charters.

will fill the cooler and redfish will give you a good tug. Hopefully, the water temperatures will keep their gear from the Gulf of Mexico.

Traps can cost the fishermen more than $40 to make with materials including plastic, lead weights, concrete, rope and buoys, plus their time and effort.

The removed traps were "retired," said Reid Myers, a spokesman for Pepsi Stronger Together, one of the sponsors of the event along with Force Blue, NFL Green and the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed the traps were ok to remove, Myers said.

Storms and stone crabs can remove the serial numbers of active traps, Coarsey said.

The crabbers will be able to pick up their traps this week, Myers said.

The Dive55 event, named for the climbing and the great fishing

Reef cleanup leaves stone crab trappers steamed

continues. upcoming 55th NFL Super Bowl, was held in conjunction with NFL Green Week. Force Blue Special Operations veterans led 55 volunteer divers from local organizations in the operation to remove marine debris and abandoned fishing gear from Spanish Rocks reef.

One diver said in a TV interview that "lobster" traps damage the "coral" reef. The traps are for stone crabs, Coarsey said, and the reef is limestone rock with some soft corals.

The cleanup crew included Chris Lucas, of the country music duo Locash, Martín Gramática, former Tampa Bay Bucs placekicker, and Jim Ritterhoff, executive director of Force Blue.

TOUR BOAT: Refueling garners no city support

FROM PAGE 3

“It seems the response for Alan would be no, we don’t want to allow that type of activity,” Chappie said.

Perry said she would relay the commission consensus to Lai Hipp and Parks and Natural Resources Department Director Charlie Hunsicker.

BALDWIN’S RESPONSE

When contacted Thursday afternoon, Baldwin said he was not upset with the city commission’s decision, but he would have liked to have been included in the discussion.

The following day he emailed Chappie and the city commissioners.

“On Jan. 12, I attended the Manatee County Commission meeting and was informed by Commissioner Whitmore FROM PAGE 4

Mayor Dan Murphy asked Vose to first provide him with the framework of a potential hoverboard prohibition so he can discuss the enforcement and cost implications with Sgt. Brett Getman of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office’s Anna Maria Unit.

“If you’re gonna ban them, somebody’s got to enforce it and it’s going to be the sheriff’s department. We need their input as to, could they do it or not?” Murphy said. that Bradenton Beach has jurisdiction over the fueling issue. Not seeing it on the agenda for yesterday’s meeting, I opted not to attend,” Baldwin’s email said.

“I respectfully request that an agenda item be added to the Feb. 4 commission agenda and I be allowed a brief period of time to provide important details that I believe the commission needs to consider. I also request that any answer to Alan Lai Hipp’s email be delayed until after the commission has taken up this issue at the Feb. 4 meeting,” Baldwin’s email said.

PAST DISCUSSIONS

On Dec. 14, Baldwin addressed his suspended refueling efforts in an email sent to County Administrator Cheri Coryea and others. RIDER FEEDBACK

Grant Fulkerson enjoys riding his Onewheel on Anna Maria Island and he’s concerned about the prohibitions being discussed.

In an email to The Sun, Fulkerson said, “We have a Facebook group called ‘Sarasota float life’ and will be closely following this as this affects one of our favorite riding spots. Low tide and the compacted sand it leaves behind feels good when carving around

“Six weeks ago, sheriff’s deputies informed us that they have been instructed to prevent us from refueling there anymore – and that it was Alan Lai Hipp who they received their instructions from. In fact, if we refueled there again, we would be subject to arrest,” Baldwin’s email said.

“Marina fuel is over $2 more per gallon than the street price,” Baldwin’s email noted.

It also noted that his mobile fueling operations reduce his fuel costs by approximately $650 per week.

On Dec. 15, Baldwin shared his plight with county commissioners. The county commission agreed they did not want to see Baldwin arrested, but they also did not support the county dock being used for refueling.

County Attorney Mickey Palmer and enjoying the sunset. We also have several members that use the Onewheel as their primary commuting device for getting around the Island and this would greatly affect them.

“We rebuke the claim that these are unsafe machines and remind people there are only unsafe and unskilled riders. No one has been hurt in the several years I've been a member of this group and we don't understand why the council has taken a sudden said he was not aware of any county code or regulation that currently prohibits refueling at the county dock. He recommended the county take no enforcement action until the matter was further researched.

The county commission supported Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s request for the county attorney’s office to prepare a document that formally prohibits refueling activities at the loading dock – and potentially at county boat ramps too. That document has not yet been presented to county commissioners.

Later that week, Baldwin resumed his mobile refueling operations at the

ONEWHEEL: Officials ponder hoverboard and Onewheel prohibitions

county dock. interest in us. I understand something new is sometimes scary, but we don't see the need to ban Onewheels on AMI and we hope an open line of communication with the commission can alleviate their worries. We would like to instead focus on the positives alternative transportation devices bring,” Fulkerson said in his email.