Don Raffensberger oral history interview

Oral history interview with recreational fisherman Don Raffensberger. Raffensberger is the owner of White\u27s Tackle, which his family has operated since 1973. He moved to Fort Pierce as a child and grew up fishing, but he has not fished much in recent years due to work and family health problems. Raffensberger seldom bottom fished Oculina Bank but did troll the area frequently. The area\u27s closure has had a negative effect on his business since the sales of bottom fishing equipment have declined; some fishing tournaments no longer even have bottom fishing categories. Each additional regulation to Oculina Bank has decreased his sales. He believes that closed areas are not a good way to manage a fishery since they are difficult to enforce and affect the local economy; he prefers quotas or bag limits. In this interview, Raffensberger also discusses the history of Fort Pierce\u27s fishing industry