Aquaculture Budget Cuts

By Leslie Sturmer

Over the past few weeks, there have been many inquiries made, concerns expressed, and offers of support regarding the situation here in Florida. Sandy Shumway even wrote an editorial to the St. Petersburg Times in which she suggested that "asking industry to regulate their own is about as sensible as asking Sadam Hussein to monitor weapons production for the UN!" They did not print it.

To recap, Governor Jeb Bush released his 2003 proposed budget last month and in it he drastically reduced staff and funding to the Division of Aquaculture within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Staff would be cut from 54 to 3 and the budget from $5.1 M to less than $120K. Many folks unfamiliar with Florida's woes have asked why? Large tax cuts initiated early in Bush's governorship have come back to haunt us now that we are in a recession. A series of annual budgets passed relying on increased spending have backfired since 9/11. Thus, we have a looming budget shortfall - so it's either cut spending or raise additional money. Cuts have become a way of life for many, especially the university, over the past few years. This is further exacerbated by the fact that Florida is now a state that also governs through constitutional amendments (our net ban is a classic example) In the past 2 state elections, the public has voted on classroom size reduction and a high-speed transit system leaving the legislature faced with figuring out how to pay for it. Yet, this still does not fully explain why the Governor targeted aquaculture and, basically, put over 1000 small businesses in jeopardy.

Initially, the Governor's office indicated that the state's interest would best be served if the Division's operations were privatized. Later there was some speculation about redistributing core programs and services among several agencies. At this point, the Governor's office has only stated that 1) aquaculture will remain agriculture, 2) FDA requirements for the shellfish industry have to be met, 3) the aquaculture certification program should continue, and 4) the BMP program and inspections should continue. He just hasn't said how - we have yet to see his restructuring bill.

This blow is even harder to deal with given the monumental strides and progress our industry has achieved over the last decade and the support we have received from the Legislature to create the Division. In part, these efforts were accomplished through the successes of the shellfish aquaculture retraining programs in terms of providing rural economic development. Further, our state umbrella organization, the FL Aquaculture Association, made a commitment in 1992 to hire a lobbyist and she has been a wonderful conduit for us. Our annual "Taste of Aquaculture" dinners held in Tallahassee are one of the social highlights during the legislative session. Ironically, our lobbyist stepped down last year and we were considering hiring someone only in a "watch dog" capacity. It goes to show that you can never let your guard down.

Over the past month, not only has the FAA but our local growers associations have reacted. Our legislators have become informed and are very supportive. Resolutions and letters of support have been obtained from citizens, chambers of commerce and local governments. Testimony has been given by industry at the appropriate committee meetings. Clam farmers are joined in the Capitol halls with people in wheelchairs, autistic children, and other Floridians whose programs are being cut as well. However, this industry has received a lot of publicity.

So we have another two months of this - session begins in March. Several things have been reinforced through this crisis. First, associations need to stay active and in touch with their legislators. Second, you can't afford not to have a lobbyist looking out for your interests. What has been quite rewarding to witness is the response of our new Cedar Key Aquaculture Association. They have risen to the occasion - verifying it sometimes takes a common problem to bring people together.

Leslie Sturmer
University of Florida
Shellfish Aquaculture Extension Program
P.O. Box 89
Cedar Key, FL 32625
(352) 543-5057