Nets torn 'all to hell': Port Canaveral fishermen worry about increasing rocket launches, debris

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Every rocket launch from Florida's Space Coast triggers hours of varying maritime-vessel security and danger zones offshore of Port Canaveral, with fishermen warned to avoid those areas.
Rockets continue lifting off at an unprecedented rate. The Cape remains on track to surpass 100 annual orbital rocket launches for the first time this year. And looking ahead, SpaceX seeks environmental and regulatory approvals to soon add up to a whopping 190 additional rockets to the Eastern Range manifest per year — including enormous Starship-Super Heavy two-stage tandems.
That's why the Southeastern Fisheries Association and other groups recommend that Congress and/or SpaceX establish a space-operations compensation program "for all domestic fishers, processors, and distributors who suffer economic losses or equipment damage."
SpaceX increasing launches: Environmental groups concerned about SpaceX's bid to launch 120 Falcons per year at Cape Canaveral
"If these fishermen lose a day's catch, they've lost several thousand dollars in income. They're typically historical families that have passed the fishery on from generation to generation," SFA Executive Director Bob Zales II said.
What's more, Zales said shrimpers and other fishing operators should receive compensation for damaged equipment and lost income after they snare underwater rocket pieces and space junk and "tear their nets all to hell." He wants state officials to organize a commercial-fishing town hall in Brevard County to discuss space-related economic concerns.
The SFA represents Florida's commercial seafood industry, ranging from shrimpers, fin fishers and crabbers to restaurants, processors, retail markets, distributors and for-hire charters. As of 2022, Brevard trailed only Duval among Florida's 12 East Coast counties with nearly 4.5 million pounds of seafood landed on the docks.
Zales said seafood cost increases are borne along the chain "from the net to the plate."
"We, on a routine basis, encounter (space) debris out in the ocean. The bottom trawlers are picking up debris, and it's impacting their fishing time, impacting their fishing gear," Mike Merrifield, co-owner of Cape Canaveral Shrimp Co. and Wild Ocean Seafood Market at Port Canaveral, told Air Force officials during a July 8 Starship public hearing in Titusville.
In an interview at Wild Ocean Seafood Market, Merrifield stood alongside an iced retail case displaying a cornucopia of seafood for sale: snapper, grouper, tilefish, brown tail shrimp, white tail shrimp, red shrimp. Fishing vessels offload catches at his companies' docks for sale to seafood processors and restaurants ranging from Orlando to West Palm Beach.
Merrifield said Port Canaveral shrimpers have snared aging space junk from Delta rockets and NASA's space shuttle program for many years — but he is worried about the Cape's unparalleled projected launch cadence, particularly the arrival of SpaceX's massive Starships. He said shrimpers can lose a day or two of fishing time repairing damaged nets, and a full set of nets can cost more than $10,000.
Zales said navigational restrictions particularly harm Port Canaveral's small-boat Spanish mackerel fleet. These fish, which are aggressive feeders, follow baitfish throughout the day. The SFA supports establishment of a designated nearshore north-south vessel transit corridor during Spanish mackerel season, citing lost catch, income and market supply.
SpaceX media personnel did not return messages seeking comment for this story. Officials with Space Florida declined comment, though the authority delivered a presentation and discussed fisheries topics during a June 2023 South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting.
Designated offshore security zones prevent fishermen, both commercial and recreational, from entering during rocket launches. During some missions, Coast Guard marine safety bulletins warn that mariners who enter, pass through or remain in a security zone can face up to $117,608 in civil penalties — with "willful violation" punishable by up to $250,000 in fines and up to six years of jail time.
'We're not anti-rocket or anti-Space Force or anything like that. But at the same time, we want the people over there to be harmed as little as possible,' Zales said.
Fishermen concerned about increasing launch rates
As August approaches, Florida's Space Coast remains on track to set a new annual rocket launch record for the fourth straight year from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Previous Cape annual records were set with 57 launches in 2022, 72 launches in 2023, and 93 launches in 2024. Looking to the future, runaway industry leader SpaceX is planning tremendous growth:
Increase annual Falcon rocket launches from 50 to up to 120 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Start launching up to 76 enormous Starship-Super Heavy rocket tandems per year from Launch Complex 37 at the Space Force installation.
Start launching up to 44 Starship-Super Heavy launches per year from pad 39A at KSC.
"The Council has received multiple fishermen's public comments from Florida regarding their concerns about the impact these closures will have on their business and the surrounding economy. Specifically, this area is extremely important for the Rock Shrimp fishery that is concentrated off the shore of Cape Canaveral," SAFMC Chair Trish Murphey said in an April letter to the Federal Aviation Administration about SpaceX's proposed increased liftoffs.
Murphey noted that "fishermen in this region and the tackle shops and marinas they use rely on every good weather day to operate" — and scrubbed launches still trigger offshore closures.
According to a 176-page Air Force draft environmental impact statement, the Starship-Super Heavy flights and landings proposed at Launch Complex 37 alone would generate an estimated maximum of 488 hours — or 20⅓ days — of maritime restrictions per year. Half would occur at night, when commercial fishing is less prevalent.
"SpaceX would seek to minimize interruption by reducing the duration of closure times for launch operations and opening the closure areas as soon as a launch is scrubbed," the Air Force statement said.
"Local commercial fishing operations should be able to temporarily adjust their routes or find other suitable locations to fish to avoid revenue loss during these restricted activities," the statement said.
"SpaceX intends to reuse all launch vehicle components, limiting debris in the ocean and minimizing the potential for damage or loss of commercial fishing gear and equipment resulting from contact with debris," the statement said.
State officials project Starship operations will generate at least $1.8 billion in capital investment and about 600 new full-time jobs by 2030. Beyond SpaceX, Blue Origin's hulking New Glenn rocket may launch on its second flight as early as Aug. 15. And United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rockets are contracted for 38 future launches for Amazon's Project Kuiper internet satellite constellation alone.
Trying to gauge cumulative losses to fishing industry
Kathleen Howington is a habitat and ecosystem scientist with the SAFMC. She is working to gather statistics regarding navigational closures and cumulative fishing impacts from space-industry activities. A key question: Which agencies and organizations keep track of such information?
"Space activities have become increasingly talked-about. They are having very large impacts on our habitats and our fisheries. Specifically off the east coast of Florida, with those closures, at this amount," Howington said July 15 during a SAFMC Habitat and Ecosystem Advisory Panel meeting in North Charleston, South Carolina.
"And I don't foresee this slowing down," Howington said.
Space Florida estimates the state must prepare to support launching 5,000 metric tons of cargo per year by 2035. That equates to 219 Falcon 9 launches, 194 ULA Vulcan launches, 111 New Glenn launches or 40 Starship launches.
In its letter to the FAA, SAFMC concerns with space operations off the Florida coast included loss of revenue and disruption of activities stemming from launch restrictions, damage to fishing gear after snaring rocket debris, oceanic environmental consequences from launches and debris, and timely communication of navigational restrictions.
Howington said the panel discussion recommended that the SAFMC create a working group to analyze data related to frequency of launches, hazard zones and space debris and their impacts on local fisheries.
Laurilee Thompson, whose family has worked in the seafood business for four generations, co-owns Dixie Crossroads in Titusville. Two years ago, she was named Restaurateur of the Year by the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.
Thompson objected in writing to a summation from Page 82 of the Air Force's Starship-Super Heavy draft environmental statement. That's where military officials said fishing activity that could be affected by Port Canaveral-area vessel restrictions "would be a small fraction of the amount of fishing within the South Atlantic Region and would have a minimal effect on southeastern U.S. fishing operations."
"But if you're that fisherman who lives here and has fished out Port Canaveral for your entire life, the increase in rocket launches will not have a minimal impact on you. It will be major!" Thompson wrote.
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Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [e-mail]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Port Canaveral fishermen: Increasing rocket launches will cost us money
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