The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is seeking public input on possible rule changes for the management of the spotted seatrout fishery. The agency plans to use a holistic approach that takes into account environmental and human factors at a local level. These factors include habitat, fishing effort and landings, stock assessments, harmful algal blooms, abundance indices, and feedback from stakeholders.
A series of in-person workshops will be held across the state to gather opinions from the public. Workshops are scheduled between September 8 and September 16 in cities including Pensacola, Jacksonville, Key Largo, Panama City, Crystal River, Naples, St. Augustine, Crawfordville, New Smyrna Beach, Sarasota, Destin, Cocoa, St. Petersburg, Ft. Pierce, Cross City, Apollo Beach, Punta Gorda, and West Palm Beach. Each session will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time.
For those unable to attend in person or who prefer a remote option, a virtual workshop is set for September 18 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The virtual event can be accessed at MyFWC.com/SaltwaterWorkshops.
The FWC also offers recorded presentations for individuals who cannot participate live. These recordings are available at MyFWC.com/SaltwaterWorkshops or on the FWC Saltwater YouTube channel. Public comments may be submitted online at MyFWC.com/SaltwaterComments.
“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is holding a series of in-person workshops to gather public input on potential rule changes for spotted seatrout. This includes adopting a holistic management approach for spotted seatrout where a review of various environmental and human factors is used to evaluate the fishery at a more local scale. The factors used would be habitat, fishing effort and landing, stock assessments, harmful algal blooms, abundance indices, and stakeholder feedback. The public is encouraged to attend one of FWC’s in-person workshops, which are being held throughout the state, or the virtual workshop.”
