FWC approves changes for redfish in state waters following final rule hearing

At its July meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved new management regions and regulation changes for redfish in state waters following the final rule hearing.

These regulation changes, which go into effect Sept. 1, 2022, will:

• Establish nine redfish management regions.
• Prohibit captain and crew from retaining a bag limit of redfish when on a for-hire trip.
• Reduce the off-the-water transport limit from six to four fish per person.
• Reduce the vessel limit in each of the management regions to be:
  • Panhandle, Big Bend, Northeast: four fish.
  • Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Southwest, Southeast: two fish.
• Allow only catch-and-release fishing for redfish in the Indian River Lagoon region.
• Set the bag limit to one fish in the Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Southwest, Southeast and Northeast regions.
  • This is a reduction to the bag limit in the Northeast region.

“With this new forward-thinking management approach, we’re trying to do what’s best for this fishery. This agency is committed to working proactively to conserve the redfish fishery in Florida for future generations while balancing stakeholder interests,” said FWC Commissioner Steven Hudson.

The changes to redfish management regions and regulations, as part of FWC’s new management approach, will better capture regional differences and improve angler satisfaction. The new management approach includes annual reviews of the redfish fishery and redfish regulations may be changed each year in response to the reviews.

For more information, including the July 2022 Commission meeting presentation, visit MyFWC.com/Commission and click on “Commission Meetings.”

For current recreational redfish regulations, visit MyFWC.com/Marine and click on “Recreational Regulations” and “Redfish.” This page will be updated with the new regulations when they take effect.