Florida has moved one step closer to allowing harvest of goliath grouper. In early October, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved a draft proposal to allow limited and tightly controlled harvest of the species.
Don’t run out and stock up on heavy tackle just yet. A permit to keep a single fish will come with a hefty price tag, and anglers will only be allowed to keep a smaller one.
These iconic fish, which grow to more than 800 pounds and 8 feet in length, have been protected from harvest in state and federal waters off Florida since 1990. The harvest proposal is at the beginning of the long road that leads to regulation change. The proposal, with changes, must now be brought back before the commission at a future meeting. If approved again, it would then enter into the public feedback and data gathering stage before a final public hearing in March 2022. Regulations changes would take effect in 2023, at the earliest.
Here’s an outline of the limited season the latest draft proposal would create:
Goliath grouper season would run March through May.
A lottery system with a $10 entry fee would issue $500 permits to harvest one fish per person.
Only 200 total permits would be issued.
There would be a slot limit from 20 to 36 inches.
Harvest would not be allowed off Palm Beach County, the Atlantic coast of the Keys and Dry Tortugas National Park.
There will be post-harvest requirements.
Commissioner Robert Spottswood said limited harvest should help better determine the overall stock of the fish in the next three to five years.
“This stock is rebuilding,” Spottswood said. “We’re hearing that it can easily sustain this very small harvest of fish. We’re going to learn something from it. And more importantly, we’re going to give some access that we can give safely and sustainably back to the stakeholders that own the resource.”
Goliath grouper were in a bad situation prior to harvest restrictions put in place in 1990. There are numerous factors that make the species susceptible to overfishing. They are a desirable and easy target for anglers because of their size and because they inhabit shallow waters in comparison to other groupers and tend to gather in large numbers in predictable locations.
Since the 1990 harvest ban was enacted, goliath abundance has increased, and that positive trend is expected to continue. A limited harvest, managed similarly to the existing alligator program, would provide both data and funding for goliath grouper research, while allowing expanded recreational angler access to the species. The 200 permits issued are not expected to impact the population or its growth.
For more information, go to myFWC.com.