 Two vermilion snapper caught while out fishing the Oriskany Reef.
Submit your photos by emailing them to Saltwater@MyFWC.com.
Mutton Snapper Workshops
Action: Gathering public input this August
Information: Make sure your voice is heard on upcoming mutton snapper
rule changes by attending an FWC workshop this August. Staff will bring this
input to the September Commission meeting in St. Augustine for a final public
hearing.
Proposed
rule changes include:
-
Increasing the recreational, commercial, importation and sale minimum size limit from 16 to 18 inches total length
-
Reducing the recreational bag limit from 10 to 3 fish per person within the 10-fish snapper aggregate bag limit
- Replacing the May through June commercial trip limit in all state waters with a 3-fish per person, per day limit from April through June in Atlantic state waters only
-
Establishing a 300-pound commercial trip limit for the remainder of the year (July-March) in Atlantic state waters
Staff will also be gathering public input on
whether or not to create a closure at Western Dry Rocks, a spawning site and
popular fishing spot for mutton snapper located southwest of Key West.
Workshops will be from 6 to 8 p.m. EST and
are scheduled as follows:
- Aug. 10 – St. Petersburg – Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 3rd Floor Conference Room, 100 8th Ave. SE
- Aug. 11 – Stuart – City of Stuart Commission Chambers, 121 SW Flagler Ave.
- Aug. 15 – Dania Beach/Fort Lauderdale – Hilton Garden Inn, 180 SW 18th Ave.
- Aug. 16 – Duck Key – Hawks Cay, 61 Hawks Cay Blvd.
- Aug. 17 – Key West – Key West Marriott Beachside Hotel, 3841 N. Roosevelt Blvd.
- Aug. 18 – Key Largo – Murray Nelson Government Center, 102050 Overseas Highway
Links for more information:
Workshops
[MyFWC.com]
Gray Triggerfish - Gulf
Action: Recreational season closed through Dec. 31
Information: The recreational gray triggerfish season in Gulf state
and federal waters will remain closed through Dec. 31.
The
regular annual closed season is June 1 through July 31.
Recent
stock assessments have indicated that gray triggerfish in the Gulf are
overfished, which means there are not enough fish for these populations to
remain sustainable. NOAA Fisheries determined that the recreational quota was
exceeded in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The 2016 closure is intended to help limit
future season closures and rebuild the stock.
Links for more information:
Triggerfish
[MyFWC.com]
Bay Scallops – St. Joseph Bay/Gulf County
Action: Season starts Aug. 22; reduced bag limit in effect
Information: The 2016 bay scallop season in all
waters west of St. Vincent Island through the west bank of the Mexico Beach
Canal in Bay County will be open Aug. 22 through Sept. 5 (Labor Day), and
will close to harvest Sept. 6.
The daily bag limit in this area will be
reduced to 40 scallops per person or 200 per vessel, whichever is less.
Regulations have not changed for all open
areas from St. Vincent Island through the Pasco-Hernando county line. The
season will remain open June 25 through Sept. 24 and the daily bag limit
remains 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]
Greater Amberjack – Gulf
Action: Recreational harvest opens Aug. 1
Information: The recreational greater amberjack season in Gulf state
waters opens Aug. 1. The season will remain closed in Gulf federal waters
through Dec. 31, 2016. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
will discuss whether or not to close the greater amberjack season in Gulf
state waters at the September meeting in St. Augustine.
The
minimum size limit is 34 inches fork length. The daily bag limit is 1 fish
per person.
Links for more information:
Amberjack
[MyFWC.com]
Commission
meeting [MyFWC.com]
Spiny Lobster
Action: Season starts Aug. 6
Information: Spiny lobster opens for
recreational and commercial harvest Aug. 6.
The daily bag limit and on-the-water
possession limit is 6 per person.
Spiny lobster must be measured in the water
and must have a carapace larger than 3 inches. The carapace is measured
beginning at the forward edge between the rostral horns, excluding any soft
tissue, and proceeding along the middle to the rear edge of the carapace.
Harvest is prohibited in Everglades National
Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, the Biscayne Bay Card Sound Spiny Lobster
Sanctuary and the no-take areas of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Links for more information:
Spiny Lobster
[MyFWC.com]
How
to measure a spiny lobster [MyFWC.com]
Blue Crab Trap Closures
Action: Trap closures slated for Aug. 10-19 and Aug. 20-29
Information: In an effort to identify and
retrieve lost and abandoned blue crab traps, the FWC has established regional
blue crab trap closures. These closed seasons only apply to standard blue
crab traps. The harvest of blue crabs by other gear, such as dip nets and fold-up
traps, is permitted during the closures. Traps that are attached to private
property such as a dock are not included in the closures.
All
waters of Brevard through Palm Beach counties, excluding the St. Johns River
system, will be closed to the use of blue crab traps from Aug. 10-19.
All
waters from the Georgia/Florida state line, excluding the St. Johns River
system, south through Volusia County will be closed to the use of blue crab
traps from Aug. 20-29.
Links for more information:
Blue Crab
[MyFWC.com]
Permit
Action: Season reopens Aug. 1 in Special Permit Zone
Information: Harvest of permit inside the
special permit zone reopens Aug. 1. The daily bag limit is one fish person
and two per vessel and the minimum size limit is 22 inches fork length inside
this zone. The Special Permit Zone includes state and federal waters south of
Cape Florida in the Atlantic and south of Cape Sable in the Gulf.
The harvest of permit from areas north of
the Special Permit Zone is open year-round with a bag limit of 2 fish per
person and size limit of not less than 11 inches or more than 22 inches fork
length. One fish over 22 inches total length per person with no more than 2 over
22 inches per vessel is allowed within the 2 fish bag limit.
Links for more information:
Permit [MyFWC.com]
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.
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 harvest 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]
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