Context & Outcome

At their late-May meeting, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), in coordination with NOAA Fisheries, considered a proposal to impose a seasonal closure on all recreational bottom fishing in Atlantic state waters (from St. Johns County northward). After hundreds of public comments and in-person testimony, commissioners voted against a seasonal ban—meaning anglers keep year-round access to wrecks, reefs and artificial structures along the Northeast Florida coast. They also approved new “flexible” metrics for defining and measuring overfishing under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), intended to prevent future unplanned closures by relying less on blanket assumptions and more on real-time data.

The Good

  • No Seasonal Closure: Recreational bottom fishing remains open 12 months a year, preserving access to snapper, grouper, triggerfish and deep-drop species.
  • Flexibility in Overfishing Metrics: FWC will allow managers to use updated survey techniques and discard-mortality estimates rather than rigid models—reducing the chance of sudden emergency shutdowns.
  • Effective Public Engagement: Hundreds of anglers and guides showed up for the hearings, and their testimony swayed decision-makers. Fishing organizations and supportive elected officials helped block what would have been the first Atlantic bottom-fishing moratorium in state history.

The Bad

  • Stubby Snapper Season: Despite keeping bottom fishing open, FWC set the Atlantic recreational red snapper season at just two days in federal waters (late May), compared to 126 days in the Gulf of Mexico. That stark disparity leaves Atlantic anglers with almost no opportunity to target red snapper under the current federal quota.
  • Missed Trade-Off: Had anglers accepted a limited seasonal closure they might have forced NOAA to allocate more snapper days—perhaps 4–9 days—but commissioners judged that a paltry gain for giving up nine months of bottom-fishing access.

The Ugly

  • Discard-Mortality Rules Coming: FWC signaled it will adopt stricter measures to reduce fish tossed overboard dead—likely via gear restrictions. Early proposals target “chicken rigs” (multi-hook bottom rigs) and electric reels used for deep drops. If enacted, these could shut out anglers chasing non-snapper species in 200–300 ft of water, until final discard-mortality studies are completed. Details are expected at next week’s rule-development workshop.