‘Net Ban’ Case Could Land in Supreme Court

By News Service of Florida

Critics of the state's voter-approved "net ban" have asked the Florida Supreme Court to take up a challenge to the way the commercial-fishing measure has been carried out. The 1st District Court of Appeal last month overturned a decision by Leon County Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford that sided with the Wakulla Fishermen's Association, a bait-shop owner and two mullet fishermen. Those critics argued that the 1994 constitutional amendment that placed strict limits on commercial fishing nets was being improperly applied by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In overturning Fulford, the appeals court found that the issues in the case had been resolved in prior litigation. But in a brief filed last week with the Supreme Court, attorneys for the critics argued, in part, that "new facts have arisen" since the earlier litigation. "New facts demonstrate that the challenged (Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) rules were not promulgated to further a fishery management objective,'' the brief said. It is unclear when the Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the case.