 Leah Roberts caught this bull red drum on New Year's Day on the Indian River at Sebastian. Great catch Leah.
Submit your photos by emailing them to Saltwater@MyFWC.com.
Commission Meeting – June
Action: Marine Fisheries Management items to
be discussed at June meeting near Apalachicola
Discussions:
-
South Atlantic federal fishery management updates
Potential regulatory changes on:
- Red drum – Draft rule to adopt the one-fish bag limit in the northwest management zone as a long-term management action
- Mutton snapper – Draft rules to increase the minimum size limits, reduce the recreational bag limits and modify the commercial trip limits
-
Barracuda – Draft rules to create a slot limit in south Florida
- Bay scallops in St. Joseph Bay – Discussion on current status of bay scallop population in St. Joseph Bay and management measures to help rebuild the population
- Yellowtail snapper – Modify commercial gear requirements
- Bringing fish back from The Bahamas – Allowing harvesters to bring back recreationally caught wahoo, dolphinfish and reef fish from the Bahamas as fillets instead of in whole condition
- Boca Grande Pass Boundary – Draft rule to adopt a recent regulatory boundary shift due to a buoy being relocated as a long-term management action.
Links for more information:
Agenda
[MyFWC.com]
Gag and Black Grouper - Size Limit Change
Action: Gag and black grouper size limit changed to 24 inches
Information: The recreational minimum size limit for gag and black
grouper in Gulf of Mexico state waters will change from 22 inches to 24 inches
total length starting June 1 to match recent changes in Gulf federal waters.
Links for more information:
Grouper
[MyFWC.com]
Gag - Gulf Season
Action: Recreational season starts June 1 in most state waters
Information: The recreational gag grouper season starts June 1 in most
state and all federal Gulf of Mexico waters June 1. This season will remain
open through Dec. 31, closing Jan. 1, 2017.
State
waters off Franklin, Wakulla, Taylor and Jefferson counties are open only from
April 1-June 30. Monroe County follows Atlantic regulations and is open from
May 1-Dec. 31.
The
size limit for gag in Gulf state and federal waters is 24-inches total length
and the daily bag limit is two fish per person within the four fish grouper aggregate
bag limit.
Links for more information:
Grouper
[MyFWC.com]
Triggerfish - Gulf
Action: State season closes June 1
Information: The recreational gray
triggerfish season closes June 1 in Gulf state waters (shore to 9 nautical
miles). The season is expected to reopen Aug. 1 but will remain closed
through the end of the year if federal waters remain closed.
Links for more information:
Gray
Triggerfish Information [MyFWC.com]
Snook - Atlantic
Action: Season closes June 1 in state and federal waters
Information: The recreational snook season
in Atlantic state and federal waters closes June 1, reopening to harvest
Sept. 1. This includes all waters of Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River.
Links for more information:
Snook
[MyFWC.com]
Amberjack - Gulf
Action: Season closes June 1 in state waters
Information: The recreational greater
amberjack season in Gulf state waters closes June 1, reopening to harvest
Aug. 1.
Links for more information:
Amberjack
[MyFWC.com]
Bay Scallops
Action: Season opens June 25
Information: The bay scallop season, which
is recreational only, opens June 25 from the Pasco-Hernando county line
through the west bank of the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County. The season
will remain open through Sept. 24.
The FWC will be considering potential
management changes for Gulf County (the St. Joseph Bay area), where initial
monitoring has indicated that the bay scallop population is low. A press
release will be issued and MyFWC.com and this site will be updated if any
changes are made.
For areas open to harvest, there is a daily
bag limit of 2 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or one pint of meat
per person with a maximum of 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or
½ gallon bay scallop meat per vessel.
Links for more information:
Bay
Scallops [MyFWC.com]
Lionfish Challenge
Lionfish Challenge
Action: Remove 50 lionfish, get rewarded
Information: Remove 50 or more lionfish
between Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day (May 14, 2016) and the end of
September to qualify for the FWC’s Lionfish Challenge. The person who “checks
in” the most lionfish will be crowned Florida’s Lionfish King or Queen. Visit
MyFWC.com/Lionfish and click on “Lionfish Challenge” to learn more.
Links for more information:
Lionfish
Challenge [MyFWC.com]
Lionfish Panhandle Pilot Program
Action: Program in 7-county region focuses on lionfish removal
Information: For every 100 lionfish
harvested from Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf and Franklin
counties, between May 2016 and May 2017, the harvester will be eligible to
receive a tag allowing them to take either an extra legal-sized red grouper
or cobia over the bag limit from state waters. The state will issue 100 red
grouper and 30 cobia tags in total to successful participants in the pilot
program. In addition, the first 10 persons or groups that harvests 500 or
more lionfish during this one-year period will be given the opportunity to have
an artificial reef named after them.
Links for more information:
Panhandle
Pilot Program [MyFWC.com]
Red Snapper - Gulf
Action: State recreational season continues through July 10
Information: Recreational season in state waters will remain open daily
through July 10. The season will reopen Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in
September and October, and on Labor Day.
The
recreational season in Gulf federal waters is June 1-9 for private anglers
and June 1 through July 16 for federally permitted for-hire vessels such as
charter boats and head boats.
Links for more information:
Snapper
[MyFWC.com]
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