FWC changes grouper regs
At its meeting at the Florida Public Safety Institute near Tallahassee Wednesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved changes to the gag and black grouper minimum size limit and the gag grouper recreational season in Gulf state waters.
The approvals include: Setting a 24-inch total length minimum size limit for recreational harvest of gag and black grouper in Gulf state waters; Setting a June 1 through Dec. 31 recreational season for gag grouper in all state waters of the Gulf, excluding Franklin, Wakulla, Taylor, Jefferson and Monroe counties.
These changes are similar to recent changes pending in Gulf federal waters. Gulf state waters are from shore to 9 nautical miles. Federal waters begin where state waters end and extend to 200 nautical miles.
These changes are expected to go into effect prior to June 1 recreational season opening and will be announced on MyFWC.com.
Because gag and black grouper are commonly confused for one another, the size limit was increased for both species.