Florida's seafood lovers and angling enthusiasts may not realize it, but change is under way that promises to brighten the future of the struggling multibillion dollar commercial and sport fishing industries. While destructive overfishing and ineffective regulations have long been the norm offshore, a new management model is demonstrating that the bleak economic and environmental performance of fisheries can be quickly turned around. And recently, the U.S. Congress mandated change that provides an opportunity to speed progress and make the Gulf Coast a leader in modern and prosperous fishing. ...more

September 18, 2008

Reeling in a 45-pound grouper used to be just an average day on the water in the Florida Keys. ...more

July 5, 2008

Two environmental groups are asking the Interior Department to declare loggerhead sea turtles that inhabit the Atlantic coast officially endangered, maintaining that tens of thousands of them are killed annually by commercial fishing and because of coastal development. ...more

November 15, 2007

Michael Platt figures he's seen the last of his $140,000 fishing boat, stolen from a dry dock in July. ...more

October 24, 2007

CLEARWATER - Michael Platt figures he's seen the last of his $140,000 fishing boat, stolen from a dry dock in July. Pricey vessels such as his are being targeted in greater numbers throughout Florida, dismantled and sold for parts or kept intact and used for maritime smuggling operations by organized crime rings. ...more

October 17, 2007

Pleasure boat dealers feeling adrift in today's economy are putting more faith in boat shows to help bail them out of slumping sales. ...more

September 8, 2007

TAMPA – Pleasure boat dealers feeling adrift in today's economy are putting more faith in boat shows to help bale them out of slumping sales. Events like this weekend's 42nd Annual Tampa Boat Show always are crucial for dealers looking for prospective buyers. But two years of decreased sales - triggered in part by a weak housing market - make the showcases more important than ever. ...more

September 7, 2007