The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a rule on Thursday, Feb. 5, that will establish six regional closed seasons to the harvest of blue crabs with traps. These closures will extend for a period of up to 10 days each to help efforts to identify and retrieve lost and abandoned blue crab traps from Florida waters.

Lost and abandoned blue crab traps have been cited as a problem in the blue crab fishery because they sometimes interfere with other fishing activities and can continue to trap crabs and fish when they are not maintained. They can also be unsightly in the marine environment, damage sensitive habitats and pose navigational hazards to boaters.

It is illegal to tamper with properly licensed and maintained blue crab traps, and lost and abandoned traps cannot easily be distinguished from legal traps, so they often remain in the water indefinitely. Regional closures to blue crab trap harvest of up to 10 days will allow authorized groups to collect lost and abandoned blue crab traps that remain in the water during the closed periods.

The new rule prohibits the harvest of blue crabs with traps in all waters of the St. Johns River system from Jan. 16-25, all other coastal waters from the Georgia/Florida state line south through Volusia County from Aug. 20-29, all waters of Brevard through Palm Beach counties from Aug. 10-19, all waters of Broward through Pasco counties from July 10-19, all waters of Hernando through Wakulla counties from July 20-29, and all waters of Franklin County to the Florida/Alabama state line from Jan. 5-14.

Except for the St. Johns River system closure, all of the proposed blue crab trap harvest closures will extend from the shoreline out to 3 nautical miles and include all inland waters in the regions. An existing Sept. 20-Oct. 4 blue crab trap closed season in the Gulf of Mexico from 3 to 9 miles offshore will remain in effect.

The closures will apply only to standard blue crab traps. The harvest of blue crabs by other gear, such as dip nets and fold-up traps, will still be permitted during the closures. The closures will also apply to recreational harvesters who use standard blue crab traps unless the traps are attached to private property.

This rule takes effect on July 1.