After more than two hours of discussion, Florida wildlife commissioners Tuesday signaled their hesitance to approve monthslong bans on certain fishing gear for anglers at the Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, despite thousands of birds becoming entangled in recent years.
Instead, leaders of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission urged staff experts to explore creative ways to stop seabirds from becoming snared in fishing lines at one of the busiest fishing spots in the state without outright gear restrictions. They suggested, for instance, looking into ways to physically deter the birds from flying near fishing lines.
The suggestions were a departure from the proposed set of rules wildlife staffers presented to the commission (which leaders still technically approved, with the caveat that they will be overhauling them) that would ban fishing gear with more than one hook, such as sabiki rigs and treble hooks, from Nov. 1 to March 31 each year. A sabiki rig typically has at least six small hooks to catch baitfish.
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