FWC Commission meeting Dec 5/6 - Apalachicola
Posted: December 6th, 2012, 10:50 am
Has anyone attended (or is currently attending) the meeting down there? I've been following along on the twitter stream (@MyFWC, for those of you on there) and they've been doing a great job of the coverage.
A lot of the cliff-notes to the meeting can be found here, on the FWC page
Some changes to the Gag Grouper season for 2013 as well it seems
Gag-Grouper draft proposal changes
A lot of the cliff-notes to the meeting can be found here, on the FWC page
Some changes to the Gag Grouper season for 2013 as well it seems
Gag-Grouper draft proposal changes
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) unanimously decided on a draft 2013 Gulf of Mexico gag grouper recreational season Wednesday, Dec. 5, at its Commission meeting in Apalachicola. After discussing several options and hearing public testimony from 26 people, Commissioners chose draft options that, if approved in February, will make most Gulf state waters consistent with the current federal season, with the exception of a four-county region.
The current proposed federal season for Gulf gag grouper is slated to start July 1 and end when the annual catch target (the number of fish that can be harvested for that year within the rebuilding plan) is expected to be met, which will likely be sometime in November or early December. The federal season ending date should be finalized in spring 2013.
The Commissioners’ proposal included an April 1 through June 30 season in state waters off the counties of Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla and Franklin. According to the proposal, the four-county region will not open during the July 1 through November/December federal season. Monroe County is excluded from the Gulf of Mexico season because it is included in the Atlantic season for gag grouper.