Snook harvest closure still in effect
News Release
Friday, August 27, 2010
Media contact: Lee Schlesinger, 850-487-0554
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) reminds anglers that the harvest season for snook
in Florida, which usually opens on Sept. 1, will remain closed
through Sept. 16. The FWC issued an executive order in
January that temporarily closed harvest seasons for snook statewide
to protect snook populations affected by prolonged cold weather in
Florida earlier this year.
The FWC recently extended this order to enable FWC
Commissioners to hear a report by staff at their Sept. 2 public
meeting in Pensacola Beach regarding the latest information on the
status of the snook population. They will also receive public
input and determine whether to reopen the fall harvest season or
continue to prohibit harvest and possession of snook as a
precautionary measure, and consider a range of snook management
options covering the next 12 months.
While the temporary harvest prohibition remains in
effect, no person may harvest or possess snook in state or federal
waters off Florida. The FWC may reopen the fishery, if
warranted, before the order expires or, if necessary, the agency
may extend the closure by issuing another executive order.
Anglers may still catch and release snook during
the closure, and the FWC encourages everyone to handle and release
these fish carefully to help ensure their survival upon
release.
More information regarding this issue is available
online from the agenda for the Sept. 1-3 meeting at
MyFWC.com/Commission.
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