Recreational and commercial blue crab traps may now be placed back in state waters (shore to 3 nautical miles, including intracoastal waterways) in Brevard through Palm Beach counties.
Traps had to be removed from the water as part of a 10-day closure that started Aug. 10, but this closure ended early because efforts to remove lost and abandoned traps have been completed.
Another blue crab trap closure in all state waters from the Georgia-Florida line through Volusia County occurs Aug. 20 through 29. All waters of the St. Johns River system are excluded in both of these closures.
This and other similar closures give groups authorized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) the opportunity to identify and retrieve lost and abandoned blue crab traps from the water.
Lost and abandoned blue crab traps are a problem in the blue crab fishery because they can continue to trap crabs and fish when left in the water. They can also be unsightly in the marine environment, damage sensitive habitats and pose navigational hazards to boaters on the water.
The closure is one of three regional, 10-day blue crab trap closures that occur in 2014 on the Atlantic coast of Florida. There are six regional closures total: three in odd-numbered years on the west coast and three in even-numbered years on the east coast.
For more information regarding the FWC’s trap-retrieval program, blue crab trap closure dates, regulations and cleanup events, go online to MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on “Saltwater Fishing” then “Trap Retrieval/Debris Removal.” For additional information, contact the FWC’s trap retrieval coordinator, Kyle Miller, at 850-487-0554.