Conservation

Environmental and waterway news.

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Land-based shark explorers.

Take 10 lionfish, get an extra lobster during lobster mini-season

At its June meeting in Sarasota, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a new and exciting opportunity that will encourage divers to remove invasive lionfish by allowing them to take one extra spiny lobster each day during the two-day sport season this summer (July 29-30) that they also harvest 10 lionfish.
Porcupine fish.

FWC Updates: June 2015

National Fishing and Boating Week, a national celebration of fishing and boating, take places the first week of June ever year. This year it’s June 6-14, 2015. It highlights the importance of recreational boating and fishing in enhancing peoples’ quality of life and preserving our country’s natural beauty.

Florida’s ocean and coastal future begins today

We must take action for the future of Florida’s ocean and coastal environments. Here are 8 things we MUST DO NOW: (1) Florida must stop all discharges of polluting freshwater from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie River Estuary, Indian River Lagoon and Caloosahatchee River Estuary. These discharges cause lesions on fish, kill oyster reefs and seagrass habitat, cause diseases on sea turtles and bottlenose dolphin and bring harmful toxic algal blooms to the estuaries causing the Health Department to post warnings for “No Human Contact” to our coastal waters!
indian river

Indian River Lagoon Downward Spiral of Grass Loss

I’ll start off by saying that I hope everyone had an awesome 2014 full of tight lines and bent rods. I am hoping 2015 will be a repeat and hopefully better.
Manatee

Springtime Brings Close Encounters With Manatees

As springtime arrives, chances increase that manatees and boaters will have close encounters. Boaters can enjoy opportunities to observe one …

Florida’s stone crab season closes May 16, 2015

The commercial and recreational harvest of stone crab claws in Florida closes on May 16, with the last day of harvest on May 15. Stone crab season will reopen on Oct. 15. This 5-month closure occurs each year during the species’ peak spawning season to help conserve and sustain Florida’s valuable stone crab resource.

Popular This Month

Apalachicola Bay Reopens to Oyster Harvest for First Time Since 2020

Apalachicola Bay will reopen to recreational and commercial oyster harvesting from Jan. 1 through Feb. 28, marking the first harvest season since the bay closed in 2020. The reopening follows years of restoration work and more than $38 million invested to rebuild oyster reefs and support a sustainable fishery.

Read The January Issue!

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How to Catch Bluefish, Bigger Bluefish, and More Bluefish

Bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, are a one-of-a-kind fish. They are the only living fish species in their family, which means nothing else in the ocean looks, tastes or fights like a bluefish.

Bluegills: Go Small Or Go Home

Bigger is better, right? Maybe, but when it comes to spring bluegills I like to go small.