FWC Overview

Our Staff

• 2,112.5 full-time employees.
• Locations
  • Headquarters in Tallahassee.
  • Five regional offices: Panama City, Lake City, Ocala, Lakeland and West Palm Beach.
  • Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg.
  • 76 field offices and facilities.

Our Territory

Florida has...

• 53,927 square miles of land.
• 12,133 square miles of water.
• More than 34 million acres of public and private land including 6.07 million acres of wildlife management areas (one of the largest public-hunting systems in the country.)
• 2,276 miles of tidal shoreline (8,426 "detailed" miles).*
• Approximately 12,000 miles of fishable rivers, streams and canals.
• About 7,700 lakes (of 10+ acres), covering 3 million total acres.

Our Fish and Wildlife

The FWC protects and manages...

• More than 575 species of wildlife
• More than 200 native species of freshwater fish.
• More than 500 native species of saltwater fish.

...balancing these species' needs with the needs of approximately 20 million residents and the millions of visitors who share the land and water with Florida's wildlife.

Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife-watching Participation (age 16+)

• Number of hunters - 242,000
• Number of anglers
  • Freshwater (residents) - 956,000
  • Freshwater (nonresidents) - 258,000
  • Saltwater (residents) - 1,390,000
  • Saltwater (nonresidents) - 1,007,000
  • Days of Fishing - 57.6 million
• Number of wildlife watchers - 4,308,000

Sources

• Florida Handbook 2009-2010, 32nd Biennial Edition
• Atlas of Florida, Revised Edition 1996
• U.S. Census Bureau
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: "2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation"