New Florida Seatrout Regulations Go Into Effect

Spotted seatrout management changes made by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at its Nov. 2011 meeting will take effect Wednesday. Many of these changes mean more angling opportunities, including increased recreational bag limits in some regions and longer spotted seatrout fishing seasons for commercial fishermen.  

Changes affecting spotted seatrout include: Redefining the areas where spotted seatrout are managed by splitting the state into four management zones instead of three; The recreational season will be open year-round statewide; Raising the recreational bag limit in Northeast Florida from five to six.



The newly established spotted seatrout regions are as follows:

Northwest Region means all state waters north and west of a line running due west from the westernmost point of Fred Howard Park Causeway (28E9.350’N 82E48.398’W), which is approximately 1.17 nautical miles south of the Pasco-Pinellas County line to the Florida-Alabama border, and adjacent federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters.

Southwest Region means all state waters lying south and west of the Miami-Dade-Monroe County Line at Card Sound and south of the southern boundary of the Northwest Region on the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County, and adjacent federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters.

Southeast Region means all state waters lying south of the Flagler-Volusia County Line and north of the Miami-Dade-Monroe County Line at Card Sound, and adjacent federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters.

Northeast Region means all state waters lying north of the Flagler-Volusia County line to the Florida-Georgia border, and adjacent federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters.

To learn more about spotted seatrout recreational fishing, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on "Saltwater Fishing" and then "Recreational Regulations."