Eleven Foot Tiger on Nokomis Beach Florida

An Eleven Foot Tiger Shark decided to go sun bathing on the Nokomis beach as of yesterday 05/28, 2010. Mote Marine officials concluded its appearance on the beach might be due to the offshore Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which now closes about twenty-five percent of all commercial Gulf of Mexico fishing or 60,683 square miles of the Gulf. The

Gulf of Mexico fishing closures now extend all the way to the west Florida shelf, The Blue water at the 200-meter line. This closed area is one of the most abundant commercial fishing areas found off the western coastline of Florida. The shelf is about 140 miles off Venice, Florida and extends northwestwards. The new “best guess” is between 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day are sluing into our Gulf marine environment establishing this oil spill as the largest in American history. That is nearly triple the amount spilled of the Exxon Valdez incident of 1989. Though to different monsters, it is still oil but of a higher grade. Considering our Tarpon travel some 125 miles offshore in their “Daisy Chaining” mating ritual, I wonder to what effect it will have on their migratory run and the offspring they deliver. I have talked to a number of area anglers, boat ramp owners and tackle shops and all have agreed we need to form an alliance to be prepared for the oncoming onslaught. As The Online Fisherman suggested, we need an oil spill prevention plan. Just in case.