New Florida Seatrout Regulations Go Into Effect

Posted On January 31, 2012

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."

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About

Mike Holliday
Mike Holliday

Joined November 18, 2010

Considered an authority on all forms of fishing in Florida waters, Captain Mike Holliday has been a USCG licensed fishing guide out of Stuart, Florida since 1986, the same time he started writing about fishing for The Miami Herald. A renowned writer/photographer and author of Sportsman's Best: Inshore Fishing and Secrets For Catching Seatrout, Holliday has served in editorial positions with Florida Fishing Weekly and Florida Sportsman magazines. His writing and photography credits include most regional and national fishing publications, and newspaper stints with The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Fort Pierce Tribune and The Stuart News.

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