FWC proposes protection for hammerheads, tiger sharks

[Fishing Report]

FWC proposes protection for hammerheads, tiger sharks

(Back to Commission meeting news)

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) on Thursday advanced its long-standing policy to protect stressed shark populations in Florida waters. The action came during the second day of its three-day meeting in Naples.

Sharks have been strictly regulated in Florida since 1992, with a one-shark-per-person, two-sharks-per-vessel daily bag limit for all recreational and commercial harvesters; a ban on shark finning; and a prohibition on roughly two dozen overfished, vulnerable or rare shark species.

"Florida has been recognized as a pioneer and a leader in shark management efforts for nearly 20 years," said FWC Chairman Kathy Barco. "We recognize that maintaining healthy shark populations is critical to the sustainability of our marine ecosystem. The additional protections we are proposing would help preserve Florida's valuable marine resources."

The Commission proposes protecting four additional shark species that rely on Florida's productive coastal waters for their survival. The FWC's proposed rules would prohibit harvest of scalloped hammerheads, great hammerheads, smooth hammerheads and tiger sharks from state waters. Scalloped hammerheads are considered overfished and are experiencing overfishing, which means that fishing pressure is too high to be sustainable. Research indicates the other three species have also suffered severe population declines in recent decades.

In addition to the proposed rules, the Commission directed staff to work with stakeholders and anglers to develop an educational campaign highlighting proper fishing and handling techniques when catching and releasing sharks. Commissioners also asked staff to explore a trophy tag program for these important sharks. The tag, similar to the one used for tarpon, would allow anglers to harvest a shark for record purposes.

A final public hearing on the proposed shark rules will be during the November FWC meeting in Key Largo.

[Fishing Report]

FWC proposes expanding spotted seatrout fishing



The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved several draft amendments for spotted seatrout regulations on Thursday that would open recreational harvest year-round and expand commercial fishing opportunities.

The FWC has managed spotted seatrout for more than 20 years to help rebuild overfished populations. A 2010 stock assessment of spotted seatrout in Florida indicated that the annual management goals for spotted seatrout are consistently being exceeded across the state.

As a result, the FWC is proposing to increase fishing opportunities for spotted seatrout in Florida. The proposal would open current recreational closed months by removing the current February closure in North Florida (Flagler through Nassau counties and Pasco through Escambia counties) and the November-through-December closure in South Florida (Volusia through Pinellas counties), allowing spotted seatrout to be harvested year-round in all areas of Florida.

In addition, Commissioners asked staff to look into increasing the recreational bag limit in the Northeast Region, increasing the commercial fishing season from three months to five months, allowing sale of seatrout inventory for 30 days after the commercial season closes, and creating a vessel limit of 150 seatrout when two licensed commercial fishermen are on board.

A final public hearing on the proposed spotted seatrout rules will occur during the November FWC meeting in Key Largo.

More information regarding the FWC's spotted seatrout draft rule is available in the online agenda at MyFWC.com/Commission. A final public hearing on these rule proposals will take place at the FWC's meeting in November.