Crabbers recruited for lake study

Okeechobee water the focus

For years, blue crab fishermen have insisted that freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee absolutely wreck crabbing in the Caloosahatchee River.

Now, two scientists from the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Marine Laboratory are enlisting crabbers for a project to determine whether anecdotal evidence can be proved scientifically. Blue crabs are a marine species that can live in a wide range of salinity, or salty water, but scientists don't know exactly how a sudden reduction of salinity affects them.

If the project can prove that freshwater releases adversely affect crabbing in the river, it might prompt changes in the way the South Florida Water Management District manages freshwater releases.

"The idea started about six years ago, when we were studying tape grass in the river," lab director Steve Bortone said. "I always noticed hundreds, if not thousands, of crab pots out there, and I thought, wow, look at all that sampling effort going to waste."

Bortone and research assistant Pat Bellew, who spent seven years as a National Marine Fisheries Service observer, plan to collect data from crabbers

on their catches before, during and after releases from the lake.

If, as crabbers claim, releases affect their catch, data will show that with real numbers rather than crabbers' observations.

"Scientists, being what scientists are, can't just talk to the fishermen and say, 'Yeah, this is happening,' " Bellew said. "I'm in the habit of trusting what they say, because I was a commercial fisherman before I became a scientist, but we've got to have the data and run the statistics and do this, that and the other."

With a project proposal on the table, the water district gave the lab $120,000 for the two-year study.

"We had some meetings going through the feasibility study and Everglades restoration, and we were talking about bio-indicators, things that tell us what's happening in the environment, and blue crabs came up over and over again," said Tomma Barnes, a water district senior environmental scientist. "We've been focusing mostly on sea grasses and oysters, but those are sessile organisms: They can't go anywhere.

"So we're looking at a couple of other indicators — we're also looking at trout to see if they pick up and move. If animals can move or burrow, are we really causing harm? We need to answer these questions to know what management decisions to make."

Whether crabs move downstream during releases to get away from fresh water or remain where they are is a key question.

"The fishermen say fishing declines for a period of time," Bellew said. "It may just be that the crabs are off their feed when there's a rapid change in the environment. There could be physiological responses with changes in salinity, and they're just not hungry."

Fresh water might also stress blue crabs so they don't move around as much and, therefore, don't find crab traps.

At this point, the scientists have not decided exactly on their methods. For that, they want the crabbers' help.

"We're not going to be egg-headed scientists and tell the fishermen, 'This is how to do it; this is what we want,' " Bortone said. "That would be crazy — they have a lot more experience than we have. So we're going to ask them what they think they can provide for us."

Results of the project might lead to different release practices or a warning system for crabbers.

"If we can show a relationship between discharge and catches, we can let them know, 'Hey, a release is coming next week, so you better start moving your traps,' " Bortone said. "Do we want to change regulations or just tell the fishermen to get ready to move their traps? There's a variety of ways to go."

But the work can't be done without the help of the crabbers, and John Smith, owner of John W. Smith Seafood in North Fort Myers, said he might become part of the project.

"I'd like to see somebody get control of these releases and stop playing God," he said.

The next step in the project is getting more fishermen to participate.

"This is a great opportunity," Bortone said. "Rarely do scientists and fishermen cooperate to solve problems, and we should be working together. We're working in the same water.

"I hope the fishermen aren't skeptical. We're just trying to find the data. We want to say something's going on. Or not."