At its December meeting in Gainesville, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) discussed a draft change to extend the spawning season closure for permit inside the Special Permit Zone (SPZ). This draft proposal was approved and will be brought back before the Commission at the February 2018 meeting.
The proposed change, if approved in February, will add April to the existing May-through-July season closure for the harvest of permit inside the SPZ, which includes all state and federal waters south of Cape Sable on the Gulf coast and south of Cape Florida on the Atlantic coast.
Recent research confirms spawning-size permit are visiting known aggregation sites from April through July.
To comment on this proposal, visit MyFWC.com/SaltwaterComments or email Marine@MyFWC.com.