The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved new redfish regulations and management regions for state waters Wednesday. The decisions come after the first day of a two-day meeting where votes were expected on several new rules.
Under the new regulations, the off-the-water transport limit for redfish will be reduced from six per person to four. There are only three different redfish management regions now, the change establishes that these will be broken into nine smaller ones to reduce each region’s management to a more local scale.
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But the biggest change for many anglers is the reduced bag limits, with the Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Southwest, Southeast and Northeast regions being allowed only one bag per person. Vessel limits will also be reduced -- to four fish in the Panhandle, Big Bend and Northeast and two fish in Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor and the Southwest and Southeast regions.
Statewide, captains and crew on for-hire trips will be prohibited from retaining a redfish bag limit.
In the Indian River Lagoon, only catch-and-release fishing for redfish will be allowed.
“With this new forward-thinking management approach, we’re trying to do what’s best for this fishery,” said FWC Commissioner Steven Hudson in a statement released to News4JAX. “This agency is committed to working proactively to conserve the redfish fishery in Florida for future generations while balancing stakeholder interests.”
The amendments will go into effect Sept. 1, 2022. Annual reviews of redfish fisheries and regulations in Florida will determine future changes.