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FWC sets meeting for Melbourne June
13-14
May 21, 2007
Contacts: (inland issues) Henry Cabbage (850) 488-8843
(marine issues) Lee Schlesinger (850) 487-0554
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) will meet at the Radisson Suite Hotel
Oceanfront in Melbourne June 13-14. The hotel is at 3101 N.
Highway A1A.
The June 13 (Wednesday) agenda includes final
action on proposed rules concerning FWC-managed lands and
bonding requirements for exhibition of potentially dangerous
animals and venomous reptiles.
Other issues on Wednesday’s agenda include
review of a proposal to change the imperiled species listing
status of the peregrine falcon and an overview of the imperiled
species management plan process. Commissioners also will review
details of the pending reclassifications of manatees, gopher
tortoises and Panama City crayfish.
Final action on reclassifying those three
species may take place during the FWC’s September meeting in St.
Petersburg.
Also on Wednesday, Commissioners will consider a
policy to end entombment of gopher tortoises and review proposed
changes to alligator management efforts.
Land-acquisition proposals up for review on
Wednesday’s agenda include the Nature Conservancy’s Davidson
Ranch parcel as a mitigation park, the Nature Conservancy’s
donation of the Janet Butterfield Brooks Preserve as a
mitigation park and two donated Nature Conservancy parcels as
additions to Chinsegut.
Commissioners also will consider temporary
delegation of authority to the FWC’s executive director to
approve acquisition agreements exceeding $250,000.
On Thursday, the FWC will hold a final public
hearing on proposed rule amendments for snook that would lower
the daily recreational bag limit from two fish to one on
Florida’s Atlantic Coast and change the current 27-34 inches
total length snook slot limit to 28-32 inches in Atlantic waters
and 28-33 inches in Gulf, Everglades National Park and Monroe
County waters. The proposed rule would add the first half of
December and all of February to the closed harvest season in
Gulf, Everglades and Monroe County waters and allow snook
anglers to carry more than one cast net aboard a vessel.
Commissioners also will consider proposed rules
that would let licensed trap fishers designate people to recover
and possess their traps when the governor and FWC declare an
emergency and exempt local, state or federal officials from
having to get FWC approval before removing traps, derelict traps
and trap debris from areas where trapping is prohibited.
In addition, the Commission will consider a
proposed rule amendment that would allow recreational fishers to
use fold-up blue crab traps with square sides.
In other marine fisheries action, the FWC will
hear updates on issues and proposed rules for red drum and spiny
lobster, discuss federal fisheries management issues, and
conduct a final review of the vision document for the future of
saltwater fishing in Florida.
The meeting will convene at 8:30 a.m. both days.
FWC meetings are open to the public, and anyone
requiring special assistance to participate can make
arrangements by calling Cindy Hoffman at (850) 488-6411 at least
five days in advance. Hearing- or speech-impaired persons can
arrange assistance by calling (850) 488-9542.
The meeting agenda is available online at
MyFWC.com/commission/2007/Jun07/index.html.
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