Destin captains turn to task force to save season

Capt. Tony Davis, of the Anastasia, told members of the Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force Wednesday that since being laid off by BP a week prior, he has only had three phone calls for fishing trips.

“That’s it,” said Davis, while standing in front of the 30-plus-member task force. “And I have one of the very best charter fishing businesses in Destin. What am I supposed to do?”

The fourth generation Destin fisherman told the group that since red snapper season had closed on July 23 in state waters, “basically, we don’t have a whole lot to catch.”

Along with Davis, other local business owners and residents were invited to share their thoughts during a 45-minute long public comment period at the Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force meeting held at The Emerald Grande. The six-and-a-half hour meeting provided an operational update by BP on recovery efforts in the Gulf, and a presentation by the newly appointed Gulf Coast Claims Administrator Ken Feinberg.

While he said “its terrible what has happened,” Davis said he is also concerned about whether or not the federal fisheries will be opened this year.

“We don’t know about next year either,” he said. “They are still testing the fish.”

Between the federal waters being closed and the end of snapper season, Davis told the task force that it’s going to be “really, really hard to overcome this.”

Davis also voiced his concern about the Vessel of Opportunity program, and the fact that there are a lot of skimmers in the water that are not local boats. He said crews have collected dozens of bagfuls of tar balls from Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf.

“We were told by BP that all of the work in Destin was going to be done by local people, and these folks aren’t local,” Davis said. “We need some help getting back into the program — That is what’s going to save us.”

Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, serves on the task force. He told Davis they had been hearing a lot of the same complaints from others in the charter boat sector.

After he suggested that the task force would work with BP on the VOO issues, Wiley said that he is “optimistic” there will be significant re-openings in the next two to three weeks. He also added that they were working “really hard” with NOAA to offer a supplemental red snapper season.

New Florida Girl co-owner Suzy Westbrook, who has been in business for more than 20 years in Destin, agrees with Davis. She said that if the federal waters are not opened soon, “our season is going to be over.”

Westbrook said that the man in charge of opening up the fishery, NOAA regional administrator Roy Crabtree, hasn’t been doing his job.

“I do believe this man needs to be checked on,” she said. “This man has more power, and has ruined more lives, and I think he needs to be inspected.”

Mayor Sam Seevers, who also serves on the task force, told The Log Wednesday that she thought the meeting “went well,” but she said the best thing that could happen would be to open up red snapper season and the federal fisheries off of Destin.

“I think it’s apparent that when the task force listened to Mr. Davis, they understood his plight,” she said. “It should be assuring to our residents that we are listening to them and looking at these issues. They are making sure that the claims process is working for them, and that we are helping them out.”