FWC Regulations : Evolution of Each Regulation : Marine Life :

MARINE LIFE, CH 46-42, F.A.C. (Effective January 1, 1991)

· Designates numerous tropical ornamental fishes, invertebrates, and plants commonly collected for aquariums as "restricted species" and "marine life species"

· Longspine urchin harvest and landing prohibited

· Commercial harvest of gorgonian colonies prohibited when adjacent federal waters close

· Total length minimum size limits - commercial harvesters:

- Butterflyfishes - 1 inch

- Gray and French angelfishes - 1½ inches

- Blue and Queen angelfishes - 1 3/4 inches

- Rock beauty - 2 inches

· Total length maximum size limits - all harvesters:

- Angelfishes (except Rock beauty) - 10 inches

- Rock beauty - 6 inches

- Butterflyfishes and Jawfishes - 4 inches

- Gobies - 2 inches

· Recreational per person daily bag limit: 20 individuals (no more than 5 angelfishes and 6 gorgonian colonies); one gallon of any combination of plants

· Commercial daily vessel limits:

- Angelfishes - 75 per person or 150 per vessel, whichever is less

- Butterflyfishes - 75

· Allowable gear: Hand held net, barrier net and drop net not exceeding 3/4 inch stretched mesh, slurp gun, quinaldine under certain conditions, legal live bait shrimp roller frame trawls for bycatch of tropical fish, bag or container to store catch, and a single blunt rod made of fiberglass or wood not longer than 36 inches with a diameter no greater than 3/4 inch at any point

MARINE LIFE/LIVE ROCK, CH 46-42, F.A.C. (Effective July 1, 1992)

· Revises the marine life species/restricted species lists to include additional species of fish, invertebrates, and plants that are reported to have been landed by marine life fishermen

· Prohibits the harvest of Bahama starfish

· Prohibits the harvest of all marine life species in Biscayne National Park (status quo)

· Strengthens paperwork requirements regarding angelfish imports to assist enforcement of size limits

· Establishes a limit of 200 giant Caribbean or "pink-tipped" anemones per vessel per day

· Allows rods or "tickle sticks" to be composed of any nonferrous metal

· Allows a trawl no larger than 12 inches by 48 inches weighing no more than 5 pounds wet when weighed out of the water and towed by a vessel no greater than 15 feet in length at no greater than idle speed to collect live specimens of the dwarf seahorse

· Requires marine life to be landed alive, and requires marine life harvesters to have an adequate live well or aeration or oxygenation system aboard the vessel to maintain harvested marine life in a healthy condition

· Phases out "live rock" landings, except for certain aquaculture operations, over a 3 year period with 25 percent reductions each year; a 500 pound daily vessel trip limit on "live rock" landings will also apply over this period

MARINE LIFE/LIVE ROCK, CH 46-42, F.A.C. (Effective October 18, 1993)

Deletes landing and harvest phase-out provisions for live rock harvested in federal waters.

MARINE LIFE, CH 46-42, F.A.C. (Effective January 1, 1995)

· Reduces the maximum size limit for all angelfishes (including hybrids) from 10 inches to 8 inches total length - except for rock beauty; the maximum size limit for rock beauty is reduced from 6 inches to 5 inches total length

· Establishes a maximum size limit of 8 inches total length for spotfin (Cuban) and Spanish hogfish, and a minimum size limit of 2 inches total length for Spanish hogfish

· Increases the daily harvest limit on pink tipped anemones (genus Condylactus) from 200 to 400 per person

· Allows persons to possess otherwise prohibited corals on live rock harvested from aquaculture operations, provided that they possess appropriate federal or state permits and provide proper notification to the Florida Marine Patrol (off the water possession by wholesale and retail dealers requires documentation that the corals were legally harvested by a permit holder)

· Replaces the term "gorgonians" in the present rule with the term "octocorals", and define octocoral as an erect, non-encrusting species (in addition, one inch of substrate around the perimeter of the holdfast at the base of the octocoral is allowed to be harvested, as long as such substrate remains attached to the octocoral)

· Changes the fishing year for octocorals to begin October 1 each year

· Requires that all corals harvested in aquaculture operations remain attached to cultured rock

· Requires that live rock harvesters landing rock harvested in federal waters give notice to the Florida Marine Patrol

MARINE LIFE, CH 46-42, F.A.C. (Effective June 1, 1999)

· Designates porkfish and blue-legged or tri-color hermit crab as “restricted species”

· Renames star-shells (Astraea americana or Astraea phoebia) “starsnails” (Lithopoma americanum or Australium phoebium) in the marine life rule restricted species list, due to changes in nomenclature in the scientific literature

· Renames Stenocionops furcata “Stenocionops furcatus” in the marine life rule restricted species list

· Establishes minimum size limits of 3 inches in length for Cuban or spotfin hogfish, and 1½ inches in length for porkfish

· Establishes daily 50-fish per person/100-fish per vessel (whichever is less) commercial limits for Spanish hogfish and Cuban or spotfin hogfish

· Establishes a daily 75-fish per person/150-fish per vessel (whichever is less) commercial limit for porkfish

· Establishes daily commercial limits of one gallon per person/two gallons per vessel (whichever is less) for starsnails, and one quart per person or vessel (whichever is less) for blue-legged or tricolor hermit crabs

· Prohibits the possession for sale of any native live rock harvested in or from state waters

· Deletes a requirement that persons must possess a saltwater products license, a marine life endorsement, and a restricted species endorsement to land or sell aquacultured live rock from state or federal waters adjacent to state waters (persons harvesting aquacultured live rock in federal waters will be required to possess a valid federal live rock aquaculture permit and a valid state aquaculture certificate - persons harvesting aquacultured live rock from leases in state waters will be required to possess a valid state aquaculture certificate)

MARINE LIFE, CH 68B-42, F.A.C. (Effective October 7, 2001)

Removes ocean triggerfish from the Marine Life rule and corrects the scientific name of the triggerfish family and the gray triggerfish.

MARINE LIFE, CH 68B-42, F.A.C. (Effective February 28, 2002)

Extends the moratorium on the issuance of new marine life endorsements through June 30, 2005.

MARINE LIFE/LIVE ROCK, CH 68B-42, F.A.C. (Effective February 1, 2005)

Establishes a tiered license system that includes the following three types of marine life endorsements:

Marine Life Transferable Dive Endorsement for people who will collect marine life full-time by diving or with other legal gears; based on an applicant’s reported income from landings of marine life species or live rock during one of the license years between July 1, 1999 and June 30, 2003; to qualify, a collector must have had at least $5,000 in reported income from marine life landings during one of the qualifying years

Marine Life Bycatch Endorsement for persons who will collect marine life primarily as bycatch in other fisheries with gear other than diving gear and with reported income of less than $5,000 during one of the qualifying years

Marine Life Non-Transferable Dive Endorsement for divers who have less than $5,000 in marine life landings or hold a state live rock lease or federal live rock permit during one of the qualifying years and wish to harvest by diving - allows harvest by diving

Limits bycatch and non-transferable dive endorsement holders to one Saltwater Products License that can be endorsed. Transferable Dive Endorsement holders may endorse up to two Saltwater Products Licenses, either one vessel and one individual license or two vessel licenses
Includes provisions regarding qualifying species, re-qualifying and transferability criteria, conversion of endorsements, annual renewal deadlines, an appeals process, prohibiting leasing of endorsements and other related provisions

MARINE LIFE/LIVE ROCK, CH 68B-42, F.A.C. (Effective July 1, 2006)

Provides that, for purposes of determining the legal size of marine life species, “total length” means the straight line distance from the most forward point of the head with the mouth closed, to the farthest tip of the tail with the tail compressed or squeezed, while the fish is lying on its side.