TAMPA, Fla., — December 8, 2013 — When the Asian market developed an insatiable taste for Florida's freshwater turtles, commercial harvesters swept across the state, shipping tons of the native reptiles across the ocean.State officials in 2009 began scrambling to implement protections before global demand could wipe out the creatures.
Audubon Florida and the Pew Charitable Trusts want to head off a similar potential problem with small forage fish that are the major food source for many imperiled bird species, snook and tarpon.
They might be little fish, members of these environmental groups say, but they are a big deal to birds and other marine creatures, and they need protection.
“We need to get ahead of these issues, instead of waiting until there is a dire situation,” said Julie Wraithmell, director of Wildlife Conservation for Audubon Florida. “As some of these new forage fisheries develop, we need to look at how many fish we need to leave in the ocean so birds can continue to recover.”
Many of the coastal birds that depend on forage fish nest and live along the Tampa Bay coastline and on Pinellas County beaches, said Marianne Korosy, coordinator of Important Bird Areas for Audubon Florida.