We are sad to report that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission decided to table the draft regulations to create categories for Sportfish and Gamefish in Florida. The strategy was to first get the concept of Sportfish (catch and release only) and Gamefish (recreational catch and harvest only) as part of Florida’s regulations, and then to address individual species that might be assigned to one of the categories on a species-by-species basis. The species that would have been easy starters were bonefish and tarpon as Sportfish, and snook and redfish as Gamefish. Unfortunately, opponents of the draft regulations focused entirely on their particular species of interest, and completely missed the purpose of the overall concept as a tool for framing future discussions of recreational fisheries management. Thus, there is still no such thing as a recreational fish in Florida– fish species are categorized as either ‘commercial sale allowed’ or ‘no commercial sale’.
With Sportfish and Gamefish tabled, BTT will work with the FWC Commission to draft revised rules for tarpon that enhance their status as a catch and release species (e.g., no dragging of tarpon), with draft language expected to be introduced at the April Commission meeting. Previous collaboration between BTT and FWC resulted in revised regulations for bonefish, which are now a catch and release species, with allowance for tournaments via an easy permit application. We hope to follow the same process for tarpon.
We ask you to continue to monitor our blog and e-newsletter for updates, and to please let the FWC Commission know that it is essential for them to support this effort for revised tarpon regulations. Stay tuned.
