Gov. Charlie Crist requested in a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce Wednesday that the federal government declare a commercial fishery failure in Florida due to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The designation would pave the way for Florida to receive federal money to compensate for the losses the commercial and charter fishing industry sustains from the spill. Florida would be the fourth Gulf state to receive the designation since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank more than a month ago.

“I will continue to hold British Petroleum fully accountable to the people of Florida for this devastating spill,” Crist wrote in a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.  “However, Florida needs your help and that of Congress to ensure that every possible safety net is in place for our fishing industries and communities. Please act on this urgent request.”

Oil has yet to reach Florida shores, but it’s getting closer. On Wednesday, an oil sheen and tar balls from the BP spill was spotted floating about 9 miles off of Pensacola, and it has been reported that oil could reach Panhandle shores by the end of the week. As of Wednesday, 37 percent of federal commercial fishing area was closed in the Gulf because of the spill.

Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi last week received declarations of fishery failures, which must be approved by Congress and the U.S. president. Until recently, Florida has held off requesting a federal fishery failure to draw tourists to its shores and local waters.

Already concerned about negative effects of constant, and occasionally inaccurate, media coverage of the spill, the tourism industry, and some in the fishing industry, feared it would discourage visitors from coming to the state or eating its seafood.

But efforts to fight bad press haven’t stemmed a slew of canceled hotel, charter boat and restaurant reservations, Crist said in his letter. And expanding closures of federal waters could severely lessen harvests for commercial fishermen. Wednesday’s expanded closure shut down a significant portion of harvesting ground for snappers and groupers off Florida’s Gulf Coast, Crist said.

It’s becoming clear that the state must act quickly to ensure it gets the money commercial and charter fisherman need to stay in business and feed their families, said Bob Zales, president of the National Association of Charter Boat Operators.

Zales said he has seen a 90 percent drop in reservations since the spill for his Panama City-based charter boat operation. He said the waters are still clear and the catch still healthy, so the name “fishery failure” is a bit of a misnomer. But the need for the designation among charter boat operators is unquestionable   

“We don’t have a fishery disaster,” he said. “What we have is a fisherman’s disaster.”

Reach Alext Tiegen at Alex.Tiegen@gmail.com or (561) 329-5389.