At its meeting in Panama City Beach, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved several rule changes for spotted seatrout. Spotted seatrout are one of Florida’s most popular inshore fisheries. Based on the results of a recent stock assessment and after hearing concerns from anglers, FWC worked with stakeholders to create a suite of regulatory changes that would benefit the spotted seatrout as well as continue to provide quality fishing opportunities. 

The following rules will go into effect Feb. 1, 2020:

•  Creating two new zones by splitting the Northwest spotted seatrout management zone into the: (See maps below.)
  • Western Panhandle (Escambia County through the portions of Gulf County west of longitude 85 degrees, 13.76 minutes but NOT including Indian Pass/Indian Lagoon). 
  • Big Bend (remaining portion of Gulf County plus Indian Lagoon, and Franklin County through Fred Howard Park Causeway in Pinellas County). 
•  Creating the renamed South Florida zone (Fred Howard Park Causeway in Pinellas County near the Pasco County line through Broward County) and Central East zone (Palm Beach through Volusia counties) by moving the boundary between the southern management zones. (See maps below.)
•  Reducing bag limits
  •  Western Panhandle: five to three fish.
  •  Big Bend: no change (remains five fish).
  •  South Florida: four to three fish.
  •  Central East: four to two fish.
  •  Northeast: six to five fish. 
• Modifying the recreational slot size limit from 15-to-20 inches to 15-to-19 inches total length.
• Allowing one seatrout over 19 inches per vessel (currently per harvester).
• Prohibiting captain and crew from keeping a bag limit on a for-hire trip.
• Re-establishing the February recreational closure in the Western Panhandle zone and the November-December recreational closure in the Central East zone.
• Reducing the current daily commercial limits to 50 per harvester and 100 per vessel.
•  Removing an unnecessary commercial reporting form.

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The recreational harvest of greater amberjack in Gulf of Mexico state and federal waters closes Nov. 1 and will remain closed through April 30, 2020.  The season is scheduled to reopen May 1-31, 2020.

This seasonal harvest closure is intended to help conserve the Gulf greater amberjack population and rebuild this fishery for the future.

Learn more about recreational fishing at MyFWC.com/Fishing by clicking on “Saltwater Fishing” and “Recreational Regulations.”

Hogfish recreational harvest will close in state and federal waters off Florida’s Atlantic and southern Gulf coasts Nov. 1. This closure includes all state waters south of Cape Sable, which is on the Gulf side of Florida, and up the Atlantic coast. The Keys/east Florida hogfish season runs from May 1 through Oct. 31.

Recreational harvest remains open in state and federal waters north of Cape Sable in the Gulf.  

Visit MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on “Saltwater Fishing,” “Recreational Regulations” and “Hogfish” for more information. 

Note:  This is for Gulf of Mexico Only! 

Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) today, approved by executive order, a fall Gulf of Mexico red snapper season. The fall red snapper season will be on October 12-13, 19-20 and 26-27. 

More Info

NOAA Fisheries requests comments on Amendment 43 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 43). The proposed actions would specify recreational and commercial annual catch limits for red snapper beginning in 2018.  

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Fishermen and others interested in the management of Atlantic cobia are encouraged to provide recommendations to members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council as they consider revising the current management system for the stock. Public hearings will be held via webinar with public listening stations from Jan. 22 - Jan. 24. Written comments will also be accepted.

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• The recreational harvest of red snapper in South Atlantic federal waters will reopen for three days in December 2017. Recreational harvest will reopen 12:01 a.m. (local time) on December 8, 2017, and close 12:01 a.m. (local time) on December 11, 2017.  During the three-day reopening, the recreational bag limit for red snapper is one fish per person per day with no minimum size limit. 

Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted today to approve a request to NOAA Fisheries that would allow fishermen access to red snapper in federal waters in the South Atlantic beginning in mid-to late October this year.  If approved by NOAA Fisheries, it will be the first time since 2014 that the red snapper fishery has been open in federal waters off the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia, and the east coast of Florida. The Council is requesting that NOAA Fisheries allow an interim annual catch limit (recreational and commercial) of 42,510 fish for 2017 via an emergency rule. The annual catch limit would allow for a recreational mini-season likely beginning the end of October, with approximately 6 to 12 days of fishing over a period of 3-day weekends. The recreational bag limit would be 1 fish per person/day with no minimum size limit. Commercial harvest would be allowed with a 75-pound trip limit. The recreational sector is allocated 71.93% of the total catch limit. If the Council’s request is approved, the number of days and specific dates of the recreational mini-season will be determined by NOAA Fisheries. A decision is expected in the coming weeks and will be announced by NOAA Fisheries.

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Volusia County recently acquired two large steel vessels that will be reefed in the coming months.

The 150' M/V Lady Philomena, photos attached and video link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8VcA5occXxuUi1IVEx5YmZ6QW8/view?usp=drive_web

And the 90' Tug Everglades, photos attached and video link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxtjpZGFz1FwODRsd01XdTdjQzg/view

The M/V Lady Philomena was donated to the county for reefing by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service after having been seized with contraband in the Miami River. 

The Tug Everglades was offered to the county for reefing by the shipyard where the M/V Lady Philomena was moored. 

Both vessels are currently being cleaned for ocean disposal and will be sunk together at artificial reef Site 12-SW adjacent to an existing large concrete culvert and structure reef.

This reef deployment will create a dynamic fishing and diving site that will provide habitat for a wide range of fish and invertebrate species.

Also, mooring balls will be placed on the Flagler and Sunglow nearshore artificial reef areas around the same time as the ship deployment. 

I will keep you posted as these projects move forward.

Thank you for your support of the Volusia County Marine Wildlife and Artificial Fishing Reef Program and have a great weekend.

Joe Nolin

Project Manager

Volusia County Coastal Division

Do you fish for reef fish like snapper or grouper? The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is seeking volunteer anglers and charter/headboat captains to take part in a descending-device citizen science study. Descending devices are tools used to recompress the swim bladder and increase a fish’s chance of survival when they cannot be kept and are experiencing barotrauma (swim bladder expansion when a fish is brought up from depths greater than 50 feet). Signs of barotrauma include the stomach coming out of the mouth, bulging eyes, bloated belly and distended intestines. 

As a citizen science partner, you will test a descending device and help identify the benefits and drawbacks of using this tool when fishing in deeper waters. The information from all participants will be pooled to identify why some anglers might not use these tools. Your valuable feedback will be used to inform and improve efforts to increase the survival of caught and released reef fish. 

To participate, prospective participants must first answer general screening questions. Randomly-selected participants will then watch a tutorial on descending devices, complete an initial evaluation, and test a descending device during the trial period from July 1, through Sept. 30, 2017. When the trial period ends, participants must complete a detailed post-evaluation about their experience by Oct. 15. Preliminary results of the evaluation will be available in late 2017.

To apply for an opportunity to participate in this study, visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/XK55MJV.  To learn more about barotrauma, visit our YouTube channel at MyFWC.com/SaltwaterFishing.  For additional information, call 850-487-0554 or email Marine@MyFWC.com.