DeLand, FL – Seine nets could be making a comeback in Volusia County.
Those large nets – often used by commercial fishermen to haul in large amounts of fish – are on the agenda for Thursday’s Volusia County Council meeting.
VCC members are scheduled to hear an “informational discussion” by county staff on how the State of Florida deals with seine nets, according to the paperwork filed with that agenda item.
The discussion was sparked in part by Oak Hill mayor Douglas Gibson’s request in September to have the VCC remove the ban against commercial fishermen using those types of nets in county waters.
Gibson wrote in an email sent to VCC District 3 Representative Deb Denys on September 14th that removing the ban would allow commercial fisheries in Oak Hill to “improve their income” and no longer force them to work in nearby Brevard or Flagler counties.
“[This] action will increase the economic impact in Volusia County,” Gibson wrote in the email. “On behalf of the commercial fisherman of Oak Hill, please consider my request.”
Gibson also noted in the email that he spoke to Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation officials and they told him the current seine net ban was made by them at the request of the VCC.
Oak Hill officials made a similar request to the FWC in 1999 and the VCC at that time opposed it, according to an October 8th memo written by Volusia County Deputy Attorney Jamie Seaman.
The memo noted that Oak Hill officials claimed at the time that the seine net ban had “adversely affected” commercial fishing in the area.
The discussion is set to take place during the VCC’s morning session.
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.