Florida Fish and Wildlife announce that it will extend several fisheries management conservation measures for red drum, snook and spotted seatrout in areas of Southwest Florida impacted by a prolonged red tide that occurred from November 2017 through mid-February 2019.
The changes will take effect on May 11th, 2019. Snook and red drum will remain catch-and-release only for an additional year through May 31, 2020, and Spotted seatrout will be catch-and-release only, including no commercial harvest through May 31, 2020.
The approved changes will give these important fisheries additional time to recover from red tide.
Staff will also revisit the snook extension in early 2020 to determine if that species may be reopened to harvest earlier than May 31, 2020.
For more information on the fisheries go to myfwc.com
