FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Tamara Pigott, Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau
                (941) 338-3500

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 24, 2002) – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission today approved a rule change that will prohibit the taking of live shellfish anywhere along Lee County’s beaches.

Lee County is the first county in the state, and possibly the nation, to implement such a total ban. This ban does not apply to commercial fishing.

Rules regulating the taking of live shells have varied throughout the county depending on jurisdiction. The City of Sanibel and Town of Fort Myers Beach prohibit it, but Lee County in the past has allowed the taking of up to two shells per species, per person, per day. This has caused confusion among residents and tourists unaware of jurisdictional boundaries.

Because shellfishing is regulated through the Florida Administrative Code, and Lee County’s two-shell limit was referenced in the code, the county requested the rules change from the FWCC to make the ban uniformly effective.

The ban should go into effect in about a week, after the seven-day legislative posting required for rules changes.

The Lee County Tourist Development Council spearheaded the effort to implement the ban and further the county’s commitment to protecting its natural resources, which are so vital in promoting and offering eco-tourism.

The Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau is a county government department with a mission to increase tourism in the off season (May 15 - January 15) and to increase awareness about Lee County as a vacation destination. It is funded with a portion of the three-percent tourist tax on short-term room stays. Its operating budget is $7.3 million.

The nine-member Tourist Development Council is the advisory board the Lee County Commission on tourism matters and makes funding recommendations to the Commission on how tourist tax revenues should be spent.