Seasonal Snook Closures; Flounder Fishing Back Open—News Digest

Seasonal closure for recreational snook harvest begins Dec. 1 on Florida’s west coast and Dec.15 on the east coast.

The recreational harvest season for snook closed on Dec. 1 in all west-coast snook management regions (Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor and Southwest) and on Dec. 15 in all east-coast snook management regions (Southeast, Indian River Lagoon and Northeast).

This includes all Florida state and inland waters within each management region as well as adjacent federal waters.

The regional management regions are part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) holistic management approach for Florida’s most popular inshore fisheries. This approach uses seven metrics to evaluate the fishery by region, allowing the FWC to be more responsive to local concerns. To learn more, visit MyFWC.com/Snook.

Closed Snook Seasons in Florida

• Northeast: December 15-January 31, and June 1-August 31
• Indian River Lagoon: December 15-January 31, and June 1-August 31
• Southeast: December 15-January 31, and June 1-August 31
• Southwest: December 1–end of February, and May 1-September 30
• Charlotte Harbor: December 1-end of February, and May 1-September 30
• Sarasota Bay: December 1-end of February, and May 1-August 31
• Tampa Bay: December 1-end of February, and May 1-August 31
• Big Bend: December 1-end of February, and May 1-August 31
• Panhandle: December 1­­-end of February, and May 1-August 31

Flounder Harvest Reopens

The recreational harvest of flounder in all Florida state and federal waters reopened on Dec. 1.

The minimum size limit for flounder is 14 inches total length and the daily recreational bag limit is five fish per person.

To learn more about current recreational flounder regulations, visit MyFWC.com/Marine, click “Recreational Regulations” and “Flounder” or download the Fish Rules App.

Flounder harvest is closed annually from Oct. 15 to Nov. 30.

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