Species |
Size Limit |
Closed Season |
Daily
Recreational Bag Limit |
Remarks |
Amberjack,
Greater |
28"
Fork |
|
1
per person per day |
W |
Amberjack,
Lesser |
Not
Less than 14" Fork
or more than 20" Fork |
|
5
aggregate of lesser amberjack and banded
rudderfish |
W |
Banded
Rudderfish |
Not
Less than 14" Fork
or more than 20" Fork |
|
5
aggregate of lesser amberjack and banded
rudderfish |
W |
Billfish |
NEW
Sailfish 63"
Blue Marlin
99"
White Marlin 66" |
|
1 per
person per day aggregate billfish bag
limit |
Species
include Marlin, Spearfish, and Sailfish.
Federal Size limits apply. |
Black
Drum |
Not
Less than 14"
or more than 24" |
|
5
per person per day |
May
posses one over 24"
W |
Bluefish |
12"
Fork |
|
10
per person per day |
W |
Bonefish |
18" |
|
1
per person per day |
|
Clams-Hard |
1"
thick across hinge |
|
One
5-gallon bucket per person or 2 per
vessel, whichever is lesser per day |
Illegal
to harvest from closed areas. Call FMP
for current information. |
Cobia
(Ling) |
33"
Fork |
|
2
per person per day |
W |
Crab,
Blue |
|
|
10
gallons whole per day |
5
traps maximum. Trap requirements apply.
Harvest of egg-bearing crabs prohibited. |
Crab,
Stone |
2
3/4" Claw |
May
15 - October 15 |
1
gallon Stone Crab claws per person or 2
gallons per vessel, whichever is less |
5
traps maximum. Trap requirements apply.
Illegal to process whole crab. Harvest
of egg-bearing crabs prohibited. |
Crawfish
(Spiny Lobster) |
Larger
than 3" carapace, measured in the
water |
April
1 - August 5
Exception: Sportsman's Season--last
successive wed-thur of July each year |
24
per vessel or 6 per person, whichever is
greater |
Recreational
trapping prohibited. Crawfish
permit required. Call FMP for
special bag limit for Sportsman's
Season. |
Dolphin |
|
|
10
per person per day |
G |
Flounder |
12" |
|
10
per person per day |
May
be harvested by spearing.
WGL |
Gray
Triggerfish |
12" |
|
|
G |
Grouper |
20"
|
|
5
aggregate bag of all species per person
per day.
|
Includes:
Yellowfin, Red, Yellowmouth, Misty,
Scamp, Yellowedge. Harvest of
Nassau and Jewfish prohibited.
WG |
Grouper,
Black & Gag |
24" Atlantic (NEW)
& Monroe
County Waters
20" Gulf |
|
2 per person per
day Atlantic (NEW)
5 per person per day Gulf |
Are included
in Grouper aggregate bag limits -
Atlantic only |
Grouper:
Warsaw and Speckled Hind (Kitty
Mitchell) |
|
|
1 per
vessel, per day of each species. NEW |
Are included
in grouper aggregate bag limit. Illegal
to buy or sell.
G |
Hogfish |
12"
Fork |
|
5
per person per day |
G |
Mackerel,
King (Kingfish) |
20"
Fork |
|
2
per person per day |
Bag
limit in Gulf-Atlantic fishery reduced
to 1 when Federal waters are closed to
all harvest. Call FMP for details.
W |
Mackerel,
Spanish |
|
|
10
per person per day |
Transfer
of Spanish mackerel to other vessels is
prohibited.
WL |
Mullet |
|
|
50
per vessel or person, whichever is less
per day |
|
Oysters |
3" |
June,
July, and August in Dixie, Wakulla and
Levy counties.
July, August and September in all
other areas. |
2
bags per person or vessel, whichever is
less per day. 1 bag = 60 pounds or two
5-gallon buckets (whole in shell). |
Apalachicola
Bay has summer and winter seasons/areas.
Harvest from approved shellfish areas
only. Call FMP for current information. |
Permit |
Not
Less than 10"
or more than 20" |
|
10
per person per day aggregate bag of
Permit and Pompano |
May
posses one over 20"
WGL |
Pompano |
Not
Less than 10"
or more than 20" |
|
10
per person per day aggregate bag of
Permit and Pompano. Sale prohibited for
Pompano over 20" |
May
posses one over 20"
WGL |
Pompano,
African |
Not
less than 24" |
|
2
fish per person or vessel whichever is
less |
Hook
& Line Gear only
WL |
Red
Drum (Redfish) |
Not
Less than 18"
or more than 27" |
|
1
per person per day |
Gigging,
spearing and snatching prohibited.
WG |
Red
Porgy |
14",
Atlantic (NEW) |
|
5 per
person per day, Atlantic (NEW) |
WG |
Scallops,
Bay |
|
September
11 to June 30 |
2
gallons whole, or one pint meat per
person. No more than 10 gallons whole or
1/2 gallon meat per vessel anytime. |
Restricted
harvest areas apply to certain state
waters. Call FMP for current
information.
G |
Sea
Bass, Black |
10"
(NEW) |
|
Bag limit
20, Atlantic (NEW) |
WG |
Sea
Bass |
8" |
|
|
Size
limit applies to all Sea Basses (Centropristis)
except Black Sea Bass. |
Shad |
|
|
10
per person per day, aggregate bag of all
Shad |
American,
Alabama and Hickory shad are all part of
aggregate. Hook and line gear only. |
Shark |
|
|
1
per person per day, or 2 per vessel,
whichever is less |
Protected
Species. Practice of finning or
filleting at sea prohibited. No harvest
of Sawfish, Basking and Whale Sharks or
Spotted Eagle Rays. |
Sheepshead |
12" |
|
15
per person per day |
WGL |
Shrimp |
|
April
and May closed in Nassau, Duval, St.
Johns, Putnam, Flagler and Clay Counties |
5
gallons per person or vessel, per day,
heads on. |
Must
be landed in whole condition. contact
FMP for closed areas.
G |
Snapper,
Cubera |
Not
Less than 12"
or more than 30" |
|
10
per person per day. Under 30"
counted in aggregate Snapper bag limit. |
May
keep two over 30" per person or
vessel. Over 30" not counted in
aggregate.
WG |
Snapper,
Gray (Mangrove) |
10" |
|
5
per person per day within 10 snapper
aggregate bag limit. |
No
more than 10 snappers aggregate of all
snappers with a bag limit.
WG |
Snapper,
Lane |
8" |
|
Lane
Snapper included in 10 snapper
aggregate bag limit in Atlantic |
Lane
snapper harvested in the Gulf of Mexico
not subject to aggregate snapper bag
limit.
WG |
Snapper,
Mutton |
16" |
|
10
per person per day aggregate Snapper bag
limit. |
No
more than 10 snappers aggregate of all
snappers with a bag limit.
WG |
Snapper,
Red |
18"
Gulf (NEW)
20" Atlantic |
|
4 Gulf
(NEW)
2 Atlantic |
No more than
10 snappers aggregate of all snappers
with a bag limit.
WG |
Snapper,
Schoolmaster |
10" |
|
10
per person per day aggregate Snapper bag
limit. |
No
more than 10 snappers aggregate of all
snappers with a bag limit.
WG |
Snapper,
Vermilion |
10" |
|
10
per person per day, Atlantic.
No bag limit, Gulf |
Not
counted in Snapper aggregate bag limit.
WG |
Snook |
Not
less than 26" (NEW)
Not more than 34" |
December
15-January 31, and June, July and August |
2 per person
per day |
Snook permit
required. Illegal to buy or sell.
Illegal
to posses any over 34" (NEW)
WG |
Spotted
Seatrout
(South Region) |
Not
less than 15"
Not more than 20" |
November
and December |
5
fish per day per person |
State
waters south from the Volusia/Flagler
County line on the Atlantic to the
Pinellas/Pasco County line on the gulf.
WG |
Spotted
Seatrout
(Northwest Region) |
Not
less than 15"
Not more than 24" |
February |
7
fish per day per person |
State
waters north and west of the
Pinellas/Pasco county line.
WG |
Spotted
Seatrout
(Northeast Region) |
Not
less than 15"
Not more than 20" |
December,
January and February |
5
fish per day per person |
State
waters north of the Volusia/Flagler
county line.
WG |
Tarpon |
|
|
2
per person per day |
Requires
$50 tarpon tag to possess or kill. |
Tripletail |
15" |
|
2
per person per day |
Hook
and line gear only. no snatch hooks.
WL |
Weakfish |
12" |
|
4
per person per day |
W |
|
|
W - Must
remain in whole condition until landed
ashore. (heads and tails intact) |
G - Gear
restrictions apply. Contact nearest FMP |
L- Length
for these species is defined as the most
forward point of the head to the rear
center of the tail |
ORNAMENTAL
TROPICAL FISH AND PLANTS
|
Minimum Size
Limit (Total Length): Spanish
Hogfish 2"
|
Maximum size Limit
(Total Length): Angelfish
(except rock beauty) 8",
Butterfly, Jawfish 4", Rock
Beauty 5", Gobies
2", Spanish Hogfish
8", Spotfin Hogfish
8"
|
Bag Limit
fishes/Invertebrates: 20 per person per
day. no more than 5 Angelfish
and no more than 6 Octocoral Colonies. Plants:
1 gallon per person per day
|
Live landing and live
well requirements. Harvest in Biscayne
National Park & John Pennekamp State
Park Prohibited.
Unlawful to harvest or posses Longspine
Urchin, Hard and Fire
Corals, Sea Fans,
Florida Queen Conch and Bahama
Starfish.
Harvest of live rock in
state waters is prohibited.
|
PROTECTED
SPECIES
|
It is unlawful to
harvest, posses, land, purchase, sell,
or exchange the following species:
Nassau Grouper, Jewfish,
Sawfish, Basking Shark, Whale Shark,
Spotted Eagle Ray, Sturgeon,
White Shark, Sand Tiger Shark, Bigeye
Sand Tiger Shark, Manta Rays.
|
Regulations
From DEP "Fishing Lines" 1/99
|
Saltwater Fishing in
Florida...
What
you Must Know Before You Go
This article
is for all anglers. It contains
the do's and don'ts of fishing
along Florida's coastline and from off
its shorelines. It explains who needs
and who does not need a fishing license,
and it tells what fish - and how many
may be taken home. Saltwater Fishing
licenses are sold at all county tax
collectors' offices and at many
bait-and-tackle shops. Licenses
may also be obtained over the telephone
by dialing Toll Free, 1-888-347-4356.
The cost differs for residents and
nonresidents.
The law says
anyone who takes, attempts to take, or
possesses marine fish for noncommercial
purposes must have a saltwater fishing
license, except for those qualifying for
exemptions listed below.
Florida Residents
When
applying for a saltwater fishing
license, you are considered to be a
Florida Resident if you are:
-- any person who has resided in this
state for six continuos months prior to
the issuance of a license and who has an
intent to continue to reside in Florida
as their primary residence.
-- any member of the U.S. Armed
Forces who is stationed in this state
(includes spouse and dependent children
residing in household).
Florida
residents may buy a lifetime saltwater
fishing license or a lifetime sportsman
license. Holders of lifetime saltwater
fishing licenses may fish in saltwater
as long as they live and will pay no
additional fees. The license fee
includes the taking of snook or crawfish
- which would otherwise require a
separate fee. A lifetime sportsman
license allows holders to fish in fresh
water or salt water and to hunt in
Florida. Both of these licenses require
holders to obey fishing or hunting laws
in effect at any given time.
Costs for the four types of licenses:
Florida
Resident Licenses
*
One-Year License
$ 12.00
Five-Year License **
. $60.00
|
Lifetime
Saltwater Fishing
License
Age: 0-4
$ 125.00
Age: 5-12
$ 225.00
Age: 13-64 $
300.00
Age: 65 or older . .
. . . . Free
|
Lifetime
Sportsman License
Age: 0-4 . . . . . .
. . $ 400.00
Age: 5-12
$700.00
Age: 13-63 . .
.
$1,000.00
Age: 64 or older
$ 12.00
|
Non-Resident
Licenses *
Three-Day License
$ 5.00
Seven-Day License
$ 15.00
One-Year License
$ 30.00
|
* Service
charge and Snook and Crawfish permits
not included
** Purchased only at
county tax collectors office and
does not include snook or crawfish
permits.
Tax collectors and
the bait-and-tackle shops that act as
their
agents will assess an additional service
charge of $1.50 or $2.00 per license. *
|
You Do Not Need a License If You
Are:
-- A Florida resident fishing from
land or a structure fixed to the land -
a pier, bridge, dock, floating dock,
jetty or similar structure - but not
from a boat.
-- A Florida resident who is 65 years
old or older.
-- A Florida resident who is a member
of the U.S. Armed Forces, who is not
stationed in this state, while on leave
for 30 days or less, upon submission of
orders. This does not include family
members.
-- A Florida resident who is fishing
for mullet in fresh water--with a valid
Florida fresh water license.
-- A Florida resident who is fishing
for saltwater fish in fresh water from
land or from a structure fixed to the
land.
-- Under 16 years of age.
-- Fishing from a boat that has a
valid recreational vessel saltwater
fishing license.
-- A non-resident fishing from a pier
that has a valid pier saltwater fishing
license.
-- A holder of a valid commercial
saltwater products license. (Only one
person fishing under a vessel saltwater
products license may claim the exemption
on the vessel for which the saltwater
product license is registered.)
-- Any person who has been accepted
as a client for development services by
AHCA (Florida's Agency for Health Care
Administration) or any licensed provider
of services through contract with AHCA,
where such service involves the need,
normally, for possession of saltwater
fishing license and such service is
provided as part of a court-decided
rehabilitation program involving
training in Florida's aquatic resources.
A Florida
resident who is certified permanently
and totally disabled may obtain a
"disabled persons certificate"
which allows them to fish in both
saltwater and freshwater at no charge
from a county tax collector.
Other Saltwater Fishing Fees
Vessel
licenses are required for all vessels
that charge a fee to take passengers out
to catch marine fish.
Eleven or more customers...$800.00
Five to Ten Customers.........$400.00
Four or fewer customers.....$200.00
Optional fees include the annual
Recreational Vessel fee ($2,000.00) for
not-for-hire pleasure craft and the
annual Pier license, ($500.00) for piers
that charge an access fee.
Additional Privilege Permit
Snook Permit
$ 2.00
Crawfish Permit $
2.00
If you are
not required to buy a license, you are
not required to buy permits.
The money
collected from saltwater fishing
licenses is used to improve and restore
fish habitat and for marine fisheries
research, law enforcement, and public
education on marine resources.
|
POINTS ON POSSESSION
Possession Limits for Multiple Day
Recreational Fishing Trips
Many anglers
are unsure or unaware of how bag and
possession limits affect them during
fishing trips which exceed one fishing
day. Bag limits are daily limits for the
24 hour period beginning at midnight and
ending the following midnight. These bag
limits may not be exceeded at any time
and are not considered "per
trip" limits. What's important in
this definition is that once you have
caught and possess the bag limit for a
species, you may not harvest any more of
this species until the next daily
period. Taking the catch to shore and
then going back to harvest another daily
bag limit is illegal.
But what if you
were fishing in the Bahamas? In this
instance, you are subject to the
environmental laws of the Bahamas and a
violation of their rules may constitute
a violation of U.S. Federal laws.
Contact the U.S. Coast Guard and
Bahamian officials for current
information
Or what about
camping on an island in state waters?
Are you able to possess an equal number
of bag limits as the number of days
fished? In this case you are restricted
to one daily bag limit regardless of the
number of days fished.
Other scenarios
might be that you are camping on the
mainland, staying in a motel, at your
beach house, in transit over land from
an extended fishing trip, etc. Under
these circumstances, the possession of
multiple daily bag limits depends on the
species you intend to keep and more
importantly, the location where you
possess the fish. The following table
provides you with the information needed
to:
1) determine whether or not you can
possess more than one daily bag limit
(on land) for an individual species when
fishing for multiple days
2) the locations where it would be
prohibited to possess the fish in excess
of one daily bag limit
Tarpon
- has no daily bag limit, but it is
illegal to posses more than two tarpon
at any time. Any tarpon possessed must
have tarpon tag affixed.
Reef
fish (snappers and groupers included
within the aggregate bag limit, hogfish,
Atlantic coast red porgy, and Atlantic
coast black sea bass)- Any
person who has fished for more than one
day may possess double the daily bag
limit once such person has departed the
fishing site and is no longer within 100
yards of any state waters, docks,
fishing piers, or other fishing sites.
Additionally, any person who has fished
aboard a charter vessel or headboat on a
trip that spans more than 24 hours may
possess double the daily bag limit
provided that the vessel has a sleeping
berth for each passenger aboard the
vessel and each passenger possesses a
receipt issued on behalf of the vessel
that verifies the length of the trip.
If further
clarification is required, please
contact the local district office of the
Florida Marine Patrol. The information
contained in this chart can be found in
the rules of the Marine Fisheries
Commission, Title 46 of the Florida
Administrative Code. You may access
marine regulations through the Marine
Fisheries Commission web site at www.dep.state.fl.us/mfc
Possession
Table
|
May
not posses species
in excess of one
daily bag limit
while in or on state
waters.
Dolphin,
flounder, marine
life (tropicals,
ornamentals, etc.),
mullet, mutton
snapper, permit,
pompano (including
African pompano),
sheepshead,
tripletail,
weakfish.
|
May
not posses species
in excess of one
daily bag limit
while in, on or
above the water of
the state or on any
dock, pier, bridge,
beach, or other
fishing site
adjacent to such
waters.
Amberjack
(greater and
lesser), banded
rudderfish, black
drum, bluefish,
cobia, gulf-Atlantic
king mackerel *,
redfish**, Spanish
mackerel and spotted
seatrout.
|
May
not posses species
in excess of one
daily bag limit at
any time.
Bonefish, shad
and snook.
|
*
Possession of king
mackerel in excess
of the daily bag
limit by any person
aboard a vessel
fishing in the
Atlantic fishery
shall constitute a
violation.
** May not
posses more than two
redfish at any time
regardless of
location.
|
|
Recreational Gear
Some regional
gear restrictions apply. Call your local
FMP office for local regulations.
Nets
The following
types of nets may be used for
recreational purposes in Florida waters:
Bully nets, landing or dip nets, cast
nets, push nets.
Traps
Traps may be
used in recreational fishing for stone
crab, blue crab, shrimp, pinfish, and
black sea bass, subject to the
appropriate regulations.
Hook-and-Line Gear
Hook-and-line
fishermen must tend their gear at all
times to prevent people, marine life,
and shore life from becoming entangled
in the line or injured by their hooks.
Also, it is against the law to
intentionally discard any monofilament
netting or line into or onto the waters
of the State of Florida. Monofilament
line can--and does--entangle birds,
marine mammals, marine turtles, and
fish, often killing or injuring them.
Explosives, etc.
The use of
powerheads, explosives, chemicals, or
the discharge of Firearms into the water
to kill or harvest marine life is
against the law. It is also against the
law to land any food fish that has been
damaged by explosives. |
Diving, Snorkeling, and
Spearfishing
Diving,
snorkeling, and spearfishing are some of
the most enjoyable ways we use Florida
crystal-clear waters. Spearfishing is
popular in all of Florida's ocean and
Gulf waters, but it is especially
popular in the southern half of the
state and in the coral reefs of the
Florida Keys. If you are diving or
snorkeling - whether you are
spearfishing or not - you must display
the Diver Down flag to show boaters that
you an in be area. Boaters should use
extreme caution around Diver Down flags,
and divers should be careful when they
surface as well.
In an effort
to simplify existing spearfishing
regulations, the Marine Fisheries
Commission has modified Chapter 46-20,
F.A.C., "Spearfishing" to be
entitled "Spearing". Spearing
is now defined as "the catching or
taking of a fish by bow hunting,
logging, spearfishing, or any device
used to capture a fish by piercing its
body. Spearing does not include the
catching or taking of a fish by a hook
with hook and line gear or by snagging
(snatch hooking)". The use of
powerheads, bangsticks, and rebreathers
remains prohibited. The following is a
list of species which are prohibited for
harvest by spearing. Any other
species not listed which are managed by
the Commission, and those not managed by
the Commission are allowed to be
harvested by spearing.
--
Billfish
-- Bonefish
-- Nassau Grouper
-- Pompano |
--
Spotted Eagle Ray
-- Tarpon
-- Spotted Seatrout
-- African Pompano |
--
Sturgeon
-- Jewfish
-- Red Drum
-- Permit |
--
Manta Ray
-- Snook
-- Weakfish
--Tripletail
-- Sharks |
-- Families of ornamental
reef fish (surgeonfish, trumpeffish,
angelfish, butterflyfish, porcupinefish,
cornetfish, squirrelfish, trunkfish,
damselfish, parrotfish, pipefish,
seahorse, puffers)
You May NOT Spearfish
(excluding bowhunting and gigging)
-- Within 100 yards of a public swimming
beach, any commercial or public fishing
pier, or any part of a bridge from which
public fishing is allowed.
-- Within 100 feet of any part of a
jetty that is above the surface of the
sea - except for the last 500 yards of a
jetty that extends more than 1,500 yards
from the shoreline.
-- In Collier County and in Monroe
County from Long Key north to the Dade
County line.
-- For any fish for which spearing is
expressly prohibited by law.
-- In any body of water under the
jurisdiction of the DEP's Division of
Recreation and Parks. (Possession
of spearfishing equipment is prohibited
in these areas, unless it is unloaded
and properly stored.)
Fishermen who catch and/or
sell fish harvested by spearing are
subject to the same rules and
limitations that other fishermen in the
state are required to follow.
|
The Florida
Marine Patrol
Florida
waters to provide assistance to boaters
and anglers as well as to enforce
Florida's salt-water fishing laws and
other state environmental laws and
rules. Marine patrol officers assist
boaters who are in trouble, can provide
advice and direction to those who are
unfamiliar with Florida's coastline and
waterways, and may issue citations for
violations of state and federal fishing,
boating, and environmental laws.
Tallahassee Headquarters
Division of Law Enforcement
Florida Marine
Patrol......................850-488-5600
Telephone numbers for
Marine Patrol District Offices
District 1
Jacksonville
Beach........................904-270-2500
Titusville........................................407-383-2740
District 2
Miami............................................305-795-2145
Jupiter............................................561-624-6935
District 3
Marathon.......................................305-289-2320
Fort
Myers.....................................941-332-6971
District 4
Tampa...........................................813-272-2516
Crystal
River..................................352-447-1633
District 5
Panama
City...................................850-233-5150
Pensacola.......................................850-444-8978
Carrabelle.......................................850-697-3741
In Emergencies or if state saltwater
fishing laws are being violated call 1-800-DIAL-FMP
(1-800-342-5367) or for
cellular phone users throughout the
state, call * FMP.
VHF - Channel 16
|