Pinellas business leaders: Protect us from oil spill

Pinellas County business leaders today called on Gov. Charlie Crist to protect local businesses as the worst oil spill in the nation's history continued to creep along the Panhandle's coastline.

One of the suggestions was for Crist to request airlines waive cancellation fees. Tourists might be more willing to plan a trip to Florida if they could cancel later and not pay additional fees.

As he walked along St. Pete Beach, Crist learned oil was tarnishing Florida's image in Europe.

He was told by D.T. Minich, executive director of Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater, that in Germany, Der Spiegel magazine is reporting that even Floridians won't swim in the Gulf.

Crist said he is "pretty sure" he will call for a special legislative session the first week of July to pursue a constitutional ban on offshore drilling.

He added that lawmakers should also discuss how to increase used of solar, wind and nuclear energy.
"If this is not a wake-up call, I don't know what is," he said.

While the Senate supports the special session, House leaders have been reluctant. He may call the session over objections of the House, Crist said.

Just after 10 a.m. today, Crist met with commercial vessel owners and captains and heard their concerns first-hand.

The fishermen showed the governor a nautical map of the areas shut down because of the oil spill and pointed out how little remained open. They asked Crist to approve a plan to mobilize the Merchant Marine Captain's Association and to open more water for commercial fishing.

Crist promised to bring the request to Tallahassee and discuss it with the head of the Department of Environmental Protection.

As for commercial fishing, his responsibility is to make sure the fish are safe and must rely on experts. "I'm no scientist," he said.

Dean Pruitt, who runs a commercial fishing business, said the area that remains open is a sliver of water squeezed by the oil to the west and the protected loggerhead turtle zone to the east.

Pruitt, who runs a fleet of six long-line fishing vessels, said that half his boats are idle and calls for his once popular gulf grouper have fallen off.

Pruitt said he wants to show the governor his map, so that he can see just how adversely affected his business is.

His message to the governor: "Get on TV and tell people that our seafood is good to eat," he said.
Down the road this morning, Frank Ayers sat in the office of FishPro, a booking service for 20 charter and fishing boat captains in the area, waiting for the phone to ring.

Bookings are dwindling, he said, though he can't figure what the reason is. It may be the oil slick looming off shore; it may be other reasons, perhaps the economy. Many calling to book fishing trips do ask about it though, said Ayers, the office manager.

Ayers doesn't plan on attending the Crist meeting because he has to work. He said the spill is on the minds of those who do call.

"When people do call, a lot of them ask about the oil and we tell them fishing is great," he said. "The oil is not here and that's the truth."

Ayers said some of the captains who are members of the FishPro booking service, aren't concerned about the oil, "but those who do are very worried," he said.

"If it affects fishing, that's their livelihood," he said. "Right now, fishing is great, grouper, snapper and red snapper are running."

Most of the FishPro business right now is fishermen from Indiana, Michigan and Illinois with some coming from as far away as Canada, he said.

Crist is trying to calm the fears of local businesses that are reliant on tourism. That includes fishing, boating, hotels and restaurants. All watched the video over the weekend of tar balls washing up on shore at Pensacola and are hoping it doesn't happen here.

But those who depend on the bounty that is taken from the depths of the Gulf echo the same sentiment.

Shirley Nelle this morning stood in front of the Quality Time, 38-foot Hatteras charter boat, which is spending quality time at the docks instead of being out in the Gulf fishing. The vessel is one of about a half-dozen boats normally out in the water right now, but the concern over oil in the Gulf has killed the charter business, Nelle said.

Travis Palladeno, captain of another vessel that also sits at the dock, said most fishermen live from trip to trip and the scare of the oil is killing the Gulf coast business. He wants to ask the governor about relief for fisherman who have fallen on hard times because of the spill. Palladeno, whose Live Wire Fishing Charters boasts trophy catches for customers fishing in deep water, said, "My business is over."

The oil is from a busted pipe on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico south of Louisiana. It continues to spew between 12,000 and 19,000 barrels of oil each day since an explosion on an oil rig in April ruptured the pipe on the Gulf floor.

Predicting where the oil will wash ashore has been a difficult task for scientists, who have to calculate currents and weather and base their conclusions on satellite imagery of where the slick is in the Gulf.

Over the weekend, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration widened the closed fishing zone by adding 565 square miles to the northeast and revised the closure zone to open up fishing along the Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

All commercial and recreational fishing is prohibited in the closed area in the federal waters of the Gulf. NOAA scientists say that closing fishing in these areas is precautionary and is designed to ensure that seafood from the Gulf will be safe for consumers.

Marti Heath, Merchant Marine Captain's Association fleet commander, had planned to ask the governor to mobilize her volunteer organization of boaters to help clean up the oil.

"There are thousands of merchant marines available and ready. All we need is the governor's authorization," she said before Crist's arrival.

Heath said the association members have all types of boats available, including tug boats, charter boats and cruise ships. There also are farmers available with bales of hay to soak up the oil.

"We have plenty of people to keep this off the beaches," Heath said.

A call for volunteers by the association Sunday in Madeira netted a list of about 200 and more than 50 more called in to register, said Ren'ee Rentmeester, spokeswoman for the association.

The volunteers will wait for word from the U.S. Coast Guard. The work could range from boat owners who patrol a five-mile stretch of beach to people trained to handle hazardous materials walking the beach.