At its December meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a rule to modify recreational regulations for gag and black grouper. This decision aligns with current and pending regulations in adjacent Atlantic federal waters.
The changes include establishing a combined two-fish recreational vessel limit and prohibiting for-hire captain and crew bag limit retention. These adjustments aim to address overfishing issues affecting the gag grouper fishery, which has been under pressure for decades.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council recently approved similar management changes to aid in rebuilding the gag grouper population. Due to historical misidentification between gag and black grouper, both species will now share the same recreational measures. The rule intends to reduce incidental harvest of gag grouper, contributing to stock recovery efforts.
Aligning regulations between Florida's Atlantic state waters and federal waters is expected to improve the stock status of gag grouper, curb overfishing, and enhance regulatory compliance and enforcement.
These new recreational regulations for gag and black grouper will take effect once pending federal regulations are implemented.
For further details on recreational saltwater fishing regulations, visit MyFWC.com/Marine or download the Fish Rules App via Instagram.com/FishRulesApp or Facebook.com/FishRulesApp. Information about Commission Meetings can be found at MyFWC.com/Commission under "Commission Meetings."