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April 2021

In This Issue

SW Florida snook, redfish and spotted seatrout

Western Dry Rocks

Spiny lobster

Gag grouper

Lionfish Removal and Awareness Festival

2021 Lionfish Challenge

Coral Webinars

Florida Coral Crew

Catch a Florida Memory

Conservation Tip of the Month Bringing an exhausted fish out of the water is like asking a triathlon winner to jump back in the water and hold their breath---they both need oxygen to recover!

Tarpon over 40 inches should always remain in the water. Photo courtesy of Alexandria Salts.

Ethical Angler of the Month

Kaelyn Kinley caught this 54” wahoo out of  Marathon, which helped her qualify for the Catch a Florida Memory Life List 10 Fish club. Kaelyn was also our first angler to qualify for a Saltwater Reel Big catfish.

Submit your photos by emailing them to Saltwater@MyFWC.com or online. Learn more about our photo guidelines.

SW Florida snook, redfish and spotted seatrout

Virtual workshops: April 5, 6 and 8

Online Survey: Beginning April 5

Information: Share your input on short-term management options for snook, redfish and spotted seatrout in southwest Florida through virtual workshops or an online survey. Current catch-and-release only measures for these species in waters from Pasco County south through Gordon Pass in Collier County are scheduled to expire May 31. These catch-and-release measures were put in place following a 2017-2019 red tide that impacted this area.

Virtual workshops will start at 6 p.m., ET. Each webinar will be tailored to a specific area beginning with the Charlotte Harbor area and south on April 5; Sarasota Bay area on April 6; and the Tampa Bay area and north on April 8.  If you are unable to attend a virtual workshop, you can view a recorded presentation on our website.

An online survey will be available April 5-18.  A link to the survey will be available at the Saltwater Comments link below.   

Links for more information:

Workshops [MyFWC.com]

Saltwater Comments [MyFWC.com]

Western Dry Rocks

New seasonal closure effective April 1

Information: Starting April 1, fishing will be prohibited in a 1-square-mile area near Western Dry Rocks from April 1 – July 31 each year. This area is a multi-species spawning aggregation site in the lower Florida Keys.

Links for more information:

Western Dry Rocks [MyFWC.com]

Video in English [Youtube.com/FWCSaltwaterFishing]

Video in Spanish [Youtube.com with Capt. Diego Toiran]

Spiny lobster Season closes April 1 Information: Recreational and commercial spiny lobster seasons close April 1. Links for more information: Spiny lobster [MyFWC.com]

Gag grouper Season off 4-counties opens April 1 Information: The recreational harvest season for gag grouper in Gulf state waters off Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson and Taylor counties opens April 1. This region will remain open through June 30 and includes all waters of Apalachicola Bay and Indian Pass, including those in Gulf County, and all waters of the Steinhatchee River, including those in Dixie County. Recreational gag grouper harvest is also open off these counties Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. State waters in the Gulf are from shore to 9 nautical miles. Before fishing for gag grouper from a private recreational vessel, you must sign up for the State Reef Fish Survey at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com. Art courtesy of Diane Rome Peebles. Link for more information: Groupers [MyFWC.com]

Lionfish Removal and Awareness Festival

Information: The 7^th annual Lionfish Removal and Awareness Festival will be held May 15 and 16 at AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar and HarborWalk Village in Destin to celebrate the fight against invasive lionfish with the FWC and Destin – Fort Walton Beach. Activities will include fillet demonstrations; family-friendly games and activities; art, diving and conservation booths; and the world’s largest lionfish spearfishing tournament, the Emerald Coast Open.

Link for more information:

FWCReefRangers.com

2021 Lionfish Challenge Turn in your lionfish for rewards Information: The 2021 Lionfish Challenge starts May 21 and rewards lionfish harvesters with prizes for submitting lionfish. Participants who remove the most lionfish in the recreational and commercial categories by Labor Day (Sept. 7) will be crowned the 2021 Recreational Lionfish King/Queen and the Commercial Champion. Register today or learn more about the program at https://fwcreefrangers.com/.

STATE SEASON UPDATES

April - May 

State waters are from shore to 9 nautical miles in the Gulf and from shore to 3 nautical miles in the Atlantic.  

April 1 – Spiny lobster closes

April 1 – Gag (4-county region) opens

April 1 – Permit (Special Permit Zone) closes

May 1 – Grouper, several species (Atlantic) opens

May 1 – Snook (Gulf) closes (note: waters from Pasco County through Gordon Pass in Collier closed through May 31, 2021)

May 1 – Hogfish (Atlantic) opens

May 1 – Amberjack (Gulf) opens

May 2 – Stone crab closes (NEW this year)

FWC WANTS YOUR FEEDBACK

Information: FWC is collecting feedback on several topics including the Atlantic croaker and spot fishery; dolphinfish; trap fisheries; and Southwest Florida snook, redfish and spotted seatrout.

Provide comments on these or other marine fisheries online at MyFWC.com/SaltwaterComments.

GREAT CATCH!

Matt Nieves caught this 19” Florida pompano out of Sebastian. He added it to his Catch a Florida Memory Saltwater Life List.

From the angler: “Two days in a row, I drove 1.5 hours to this spot and FINALLY I hooked into my first pompano. I'm tired, I'm burnt, I'm covered in salt, but I'm eating GOOOOOOOD."

EVENTS April - May

We will continue to monitor COVID-19 updates and plan events with this consideration in mind.

Lionfish Events Calendar

Virtual Saltwater Fishing Clinics: Registration for these events is currently full. Recordings of clinics will be available in the coming months and additional live sessions may be added in the future. 

April 5 – SW Florida snook, redfish and spotted seatrout workshop – Charlotte Harbor area and south

April 6 –  SW Florida snook, redfish and spotted seatrout workshop – Sarasota Bay

April 8 –  SW Florida snook, redfish and spotted seatrout workshop – Tampa Bay area and north

April 8 - Reef Fish ID Webinar Part 1

April 15 - Reef Fish ID Webinar Part Two

May 12 and 13 - FWC Commission Meeting

May 15 and 16 - Lionfish Removal and Awareness Festival - Destin

SOCIAL SALTWATER

Post of the Month

HARVESTER RECOGNITION Dean Ruscoe has been hard at work removing lionfish out of Palm Beach County and we have the pictures to prove it! Thanks Dean!!

Do you have any great lionfish shots you’d like to share? We want to see ‘em! Submit photos to https://fwcreefrangers.com/get-involved/... for the chance to be featured!

See this post at Facebook.com/FWCReefRangers

Social Media Channels:

• Catch a Florida Memory Facebook
• Lionfish Reef Rangers Facebook
• FWC Facebook
• FWC Instagram
• FWC Saltwater Fishing YouTube

Catch a Florida Memory

Redfish photo featuring Jaxson Madison.

Submit saltwater catches and earn rewards

Information: You can now submit your vermilion snapper and saltwater catfish catches to earn a Reel Big Fish achievement! The qualifying length for vermilion snapper is 17 inches for adults and 13 inches for youth, while the qualifying length for saltwater catfish (gafftopsail or hardhead) is 22 inches for adults and 16 inches for youth. All Reel Big Fish catches must be photographed over a qualifying measuring device clearly showing the exact full length of the fish. A photo of the fish with the angler submitting the catch is also required.

Have you caught a Florida memory? Submit photos of your saltwater catches to earn rewards for various achievements while targeting a diversity of species and reducing fishing pressure on the most commonly sought-after catches.

• Saltwater Fish Life List: Can you catch all 70 species?
• Saltwater Reel Big Fish: Recognition for extraordinary-sized catches.
• Saltwater Grand Slams: Earn rewards for catching three specific fish in 24 hours.

Join the Triple Threat Club and earn even more prizes (including a long sleeve performance fishing shirt and more) by participating in all three programs. Anglers must qualify for each of the three programs to be eligible.

FWC also manages the Florida Saltwater Fishing Records program.

Note: Prize package mailings have resumed but will continue to be slower than normal over the next few months as we continue to work through delays resulting from COVID-19. Anglers are still encouraged to submit catches and enjoy getting out on the water!

Link for more information:

CatchaFloridaMemory.com