February 20, 2024
By Florida Sportsman Staff
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved new management regions and regulations for snook in state waters. These regulations, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2024, establishes nine snook management regions and establish open seasons as well as bag and slot limits for each region, which are detailed below:
Common Snook Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay Open season : March – April, September – NovemberBag limit : 1 fishSlot limit : 28-33 inchesCharlotte Harbor, Southwest Open season : March – April, October – NovemberBag limit : 1 fishSlot limit : 28-33 inchesSoutheast, Indian River Lagoon, Northeast Open season : February – May, September – Dec. 14Bag limit : 1 fishSlot limit : 28-32 inchesFLORIDA SNOOK REGIONS Florida's snook-fishing regions. As part of this new management approach, FWC staff intends to monitor and evaluate these regulations annually. To see the latest snook annual reviews, which provide a summary of the snook fishery status in each management region, visit www.MyFWC.com/Snook . This landing page will also have formal descriptions of the boundaries for the new regions.
“Through innovative management strategies like this, which allow us to be agile in our response to concerns, we are ensuring that Florida’s future generations of anglers will have access to this iconic fishery,” said FWC's Chairman Rodney Barreto.
This article was featured in the December/January 2024 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click here to subscribe .
