To Our South Florida Guides and Anglers,
FWC has alerted us that they will present the Draft Rule for barracuda to the FWC Commission at the Commission meeting June 22-23, in Apalachicola. Barracuda will be addressed on Thursday, June 23. If the Draft Rule is accepted by the Commissioners, the Final Rule will be voted on at the FWC Commission meeting in St. Petersburg on November 16-17.
The current regulations are:
Photo: Pat Ford
- 2 barracuda per person per day, with a 6 fish vessel limit
- There is no size limit
The proposed Draft Regulations would add:
- A slot of 15″ to 36″ (barracuda within this slot can be harvested, with harvest limits as stated above)
- Allowance of 1 barracuda over 36″ per vessel per day
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is pleased that the harvest restrictions remain in place. Prior to these regulations, the fishery was essentially unregulated. However, we feel that the slot is too large, and should be further constricted to allow more barracuda to mature and reproduce.
We encourage anglers and guides to attend the FWC Commission meeting in Apalachicola if they are able, or to submit statements directly to FWC prior to the meeting by emailing FWC Director of Marine Fisheries Management, Jessica McCawley at jessica.mccawley@myfwc.com.
More details on the draft rule and public workshops are at the links below:
