April 24, 2020
By Florida Sportsman Editor
FWC online meeting May 14 open to the public
One of the conversation topics of the meeting are new regulations for commercial stone crabbing, including shortening the season, increasing the minimum claw size, and limiting possession. Other topics of discussion include the State Reef Fish Survey and changes to the Private Lands Alligator Management Rule.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will meet online May 14 beginning at 9 am. The meeting originally scheduled to be held in Miami will now be held online due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) social distancing guidelines. This meeting is being held by communications media technology, specifically using Adobe Connect with a telephone conference line for accepting public comment during the meeting. The Florida Channel will be broadcasting live video coverage at TheFloridaChannel.org and participants watching from the Florida channel can utilize the telephone conference line to call in for public comment.
The FWC is committed to providing opportunity for public input. The Commission welcomes public input regarding agenda items requiring action. To accommodate as much input as possible from those attending, the Chairman reserves the right to designate the amount of time given to a topic or speaker, including time donation to other speakers. Because this meeting is being held by video conference and a telephone conference line, the Commission is presenting a reduced agenda and is limiting public comment to one hour per agenda item. Public comment will be taken by telephone conference line on a first call/first serve basis.
The Commission is also offering the opportunity for stakeholders to provide their comments regarding the agenda item topics in advance. Advanced comments should be submitted no later than Friday, May 1. Those comments can be submitted via email to Commissioners@MyFWC.com. If you would like to provide written comments, you can mail those comments to:
FWC Commissioners
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
For the full
May 14 agenda , links to background reports, and ways to participate, go to
MyFWC.com/about/commission/commission-meetings , or MyFWC.com/About and click on “The Commission” and “Commission Meetings.”
Updates will be provided at
Twitter.com/MyFWC (@MyFWC) and you can sign up for news releases at
MyFWC.com .