Goliath Grouper Study A Survey Analysis of Dive Shop and Charter Boat Operators in Florida Julie Harrington, PhD, Director FSU Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis (CEFA) 2035 E. Paul Dirac Dr. Suite 129 Morgan Bldg Innovation Park Tallahassee, FL 32310 Bassam Awad, PhD Candidate FSU CEFA 2035 E. Paul Dirac Dr. Suite 127 Morgan Bldg Tallahassee, FL 32310 Kelly Kingon Graduate Research Assistant FSU CML and Department of Geography 3618 Coastal Highway St. Teresa, FL 32358 Alachua Haskins FSU CEFA 2035 E. Paul Dirac Dr. Suite 127 Morgan Bldg Tallahassee, FL 32310 June 2009 This report is prepared for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 5 SURVEY METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................................... 7 RESULTS............................................................................................................................................... 8 GENERAL INFORMATION ON DIVING AND FISHING CHARTERS ............................................................... 8 DATA ON GOLIATH GROUPER ENCOUNTERS .................................................................................... 8 FISHERIES MANAGEMENT INFORMATION ...................................................................................... 10 ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................... 12 PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT CHARTER OPERATORS .................................................................. 12 SPATIAL INFORMATION ............................................................................................................. 13 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................ 44 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................................................. 46 APPENDICES....................................................................................................................................... 47 APPENDIX A. THE SURVEY ......................................................................................................... 48 APPENDIX C. PHONE SURVEY RESULTS ....................................................................................... 101 APPENDIX D: NUMBER AND SIZE OF GOLIATH GROUPERS BY SITE FROM PHONE INTERVIEWS................. 109 APPENDIX E. TEST OF MEAN DIFFERENCE.................................................................................... 111 2 List of Tables Table 1. Type of license held if a fishing charter captain (Q3). ............................................................ 15 Table 2. Summary statistics on the number of trips taken in a typical year (Q6). ................................ 15 Table 3. Origin of customer base for fishing charter, diving charter, and dive/fishing charter businesses (Q7). .................................................................................................................................................. 15 Table 4. The size of goliath grouper typically seen by each business type (Q10). ................................ 16 Table 5. Respondents have customers who ask to see or catch goliath grouper (Q13)........................ 16 Table 6. Respondents’ opinion regarding the “no take” zones established in state and federal waters around Florida (Q51).......................................................................................................................... 17 Table 7. Organizations in which respondents maintain memberships (Q34). ...................................... 17 Table 8. Family members supported by the respondent including the respondent (Q33).................... 18 Table 9. The best estimate of the replacement value of the equipment that the respondents used for diving/fishing last season (Q38). ........................................................................................................ 19 Table 10. The best estimate of the respondent’s expenses last year (Q41). ....................................... 20 Table 11. The primary reason for the selection of the respondents’ diving/fishing areas (Q59). ......... 21 List of Figures Figure 1. Map showing the number of surveys completed in each Florida county (Q26). .................... 22 Figure 2. Map of Florida showing the distribution of business type by county. Pie charts show the percentages of each business type surveyed within that county (Q1)................................................. 23 Figure 3. Type of fishing techniques used in the charter boat industry (Q4). N=211........................... 24 Figure 4. The frequency of fishing and diving trips (Q5)...................................................................... 24 Figure 5. Ranking by sector of the respondents’ level of conflict to other user groups (1=no conflict, 5=the most conflict) (Q48)................................................................................................................ 25 Figure 6. Spatial distribution by Florida county of the number of goliath observed on a typical trip (Q9). .................................................................................................................................................. 26 Figure 7. Spatial distribution by Florida County of all survey respondents that have observed goliath grouper (designated by business county of origin) (Q8)...................................................................... 27 Figure 8. The average number of goliath grouper seen or caught on a typical trip (Q9). ..................... 28 Figure 9. Spatial distribution by county indicating the lengths of the goliath grouper observed by fishing and diving businesses (Q10).................................................................................................... 29 Figure 10. The average maximum (top) and minimum (bottom) depths where goliath grouper are typically encountered by county of residence, with bathymetric contours for reference (Q12) .......... 30 Figure 11. Percentage of businesses by county that have customers request to see or catch goliath grouper (Q13). ................................................................................................................................... 31 Figure 12. Respondent’s perception of how goliath grouper influence their respondent's charter business (Q15). .................................................................................................................................. 31 Figure 13. Respondent’s perception of the relative benefits of goliath grouper activity to their business (Q19). .................................................................................................................................. 32 Figure 14. The effect on the respondents' businesses if goliath grouper were allowed to be harvested (Q20). ................................................................................................................................................ 32 3 Figure 15. Opinions of respondents on how goliath grouper should be managed (Q16)...................... 33 Figure 16. The respondents’ rankings of management, where 1 is the most preferred form of management and 6 is the least preferred form of management (Q49). .............................................. 33 Figure 17. Ranking of the most effective form of fisheries management where 1 is the most effective and 7 is the least effective (Q58). ...................................................................................................... 34 Figure 18. Ranked obstacles to sustainable fisheries Florida where 1 is the most important and 7 is the least important (Q57). ....................................................................................................................... 34 Figure 19. The support of catch and release as a fisheries management strategy (Q18)...................... 35 Figure 20. The effect that catch‐and‐release angling methods have on the goliath grouper population (Q17). ................................................................................................................................................ 35 Figure 21. How the respondents think the state of Florida should manage goliath grouper (Q61). ..... 36 Figure 22. The maximum amount the respondents would pay for a permit to catch a limited number of goliath grouper (Q63). ................................................................................................................... 36 Figure 23. The overall rating of current health of the respondents’ fishing/diving grounds (Q24). ...... 37 Figure 24. Opinion of respondents on the changes in the status of their fishing/diving grounds over the last 20 years (Q25). ............................................................................................................................ 37 Figure 25. The effect that water pollution, commercial fishing, hurricanes, recreational fishing, climate change, biodiversity, and scuba diving/snorkeling might have on the health of the reefs (1=positive, 4=no effect, 7=negative) (Q23)........................................................................................ 38 Figure 26. The level of impact of different user groups to marine resources where