NEWS
RELEASE
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
October 27, 1997
CONTACT: Joe Jenkins or Jay Holder (904) 985-7880
GFC TO HOLD PUBLIC FORUM IN SANFORD
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is holding a public forum on Wednesday, Nov. 19 in Sanford to receive public comment on a proposed rule change that would affect black crappie size and bag limits (for more info on regulations see our question & answer section)on Lake Monroe, and a separate proposed statewide rule change that would reduce the daily harvest of black crappie from 50 to 25 per angler.
Biological data collected by FWC fisheries biologists indicate that a 12-inch minimum size limit on crappie in Lake Monroe would give anglers the opportunity to harvest fish that are up to two and a half times heavier than the majority of crappie presently being harvested there.
Lake Monroe has historically been a popular crappie fishing lake and has the potential to become a "quality" crappie fishing lake partly because of the establishment of new vegetation and improved water quality. The excellent habitat combined with the proposed 12-inch minimum size limit and a 25 fish bag limit for crappie could turn Lake Monroe into the quality crappie fishing lake it has the potential of becoming.
In addition to the proposed rule changes that would affect Lake Monroe exclusively, the public meeting will also be addressing a statewide proposed rule change that would reduce the daily harvest of black crappie from 50 to 25 per angler. Currently anglers can keep 50 panfish a day including bluegill, black crappie, redear sunfish (shellcracker), spotted sunfish (stumpknockers), warmouth and redfin pickerel, individually or in total. The new proposal would remove crappie from this aggregate bag and establish a separate 25 crappie per day limit, while the panfish limit of 50 per day (excluding crappie) would remain the same.
The meeting is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m., in the Cultural Arts Center at 119 West 5th St., in Sanford. FWC fisheries biologists will be on hand to answer questions and the public is encouraged to attend.