The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) seeks public input o­n proposed changes to two Lake Okeechobee freshwater fishing rules.

The FWC will hold two public meetings in November to explain the reasons behind the proposed changes and to hear public opinion. The first meeting will be held in Clewiston o­n Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office, 525 Ridgelawn Rd. The second meeting will be in Okeechobee o­n Thursday, Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Okeechobee Civic Center, 1750 U.S. Hwy. 90 North.

Sampling over the last few years has shown a decline in the numbers of small largemouth bass and black crappie. The first proposed change is to replace the existing 13- to 18-inch protective slot limit for largemouth bass with an 18-inch minimum size limit. Currently, the slot limit restricts the harvest of bass between 13 and 18 inches in length. The new size limit would mean anglers could not take any bass under 18 inches from the lake. This change would protect the younger largemouth bass until they grow to quality size.

The second proposed change would be to institute a 10-inch minimum size limit o­n black crappie, also called speckled perch. The rule change would protect the younger black crappie from being harvested and reduce pressure o­n the current population. This rule would remain in effect until FWC trawl data shows three successive years of normal catch rates for black crappie.

If adopted by the Commission, these rule changes would go into effect July 1, 2008.

For more information about freshwater fisheries, visit MyFWC.com and click o­n the fishing link. For more information about the meetings, call Regional Fisheries Biologist Jon Fury at 561-625-5122.

New lake schedule unveiled
By Pete Gawda, Okeechobee News

Lake Okeechobee may soon be maintained at a lower level with reduced discharges of freshwater to the St. Lucie Canal and the Caloosahatchee River.

Some environmentalists have claimed that freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee have upset the balance of salinity in the estuaries.

At a public meeting held Tuesday, Aug. 14, at the Okeechobee Civic Center, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) unveiled a proposed new program of lake regulation.

Kim Taplan, south Florida program manger for restoration for COE, presented the tentatively selected plan (TSP). Computer simulation models, using actual conditions over the past 36 years, were used to demonstrate the outcome of various proposed schedules.

“Public safety is our main concern,” she said.

Ms. Taplan said the proposed plan was designed to balance all lake management objectives including ecology, the estuaries, navigation, the Everglades and flood control.

By Jose Jesus Zaragoza, INI Florida

WEST PALM BEACH -- In a meeting to discuss the relative necessity of backpumping to provide some relief to the current drought conditions, sugar representatives and their advocates said that they cannot support sustained water restrictions.“I’m bringing you fear from the agricultural industry,” said Nelson Mongiovi, director of the division of marketing with the Florida Department of Agriculture (FDA). “I will not tell you the sky is falling … but there are gray clouds we have never seen before.”Arguing emphatically that the water restrictions are causing severe harm to the industry, sugar proponents made the case at the Wednesday, Aug. 8, meeting that the negative environmental affects associated with backpumping are outweighed by the need to have enough water with which to continue doing business.It would not be enough, in the end, and farmers and the industry say they find themselves in a precarious situation.