Red snapper on the agenda for FWC meeting in Sandestin Feb. 4-5

When and where anglers can catch red snapper is one of many things the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will discuss when they meet at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort on Feb. 4-5.
On Thursday, Feb. 5, the commission will address marine fisheries issues. A final public hearing will be held on a proposed rule that would establish a June 1 through Sept. 30 recreational red snapper harvest season in Gulf of Mexico state waters. This proposed action would be consistent with the red snapper closed season in Gulf federal waters.
Destin City Council along with the Destin Charter Boat Association have recently spoke in favor of this proposed rule in hopes of getting the fishery back to a place where it’s not considered overfished.
On Thursday, following the red snapper proposal, a final public hearing will be held on proposed rules that would regulate the number of traps used in the lobster fishery. Commercial lobster trap fishermen would still be able to fish with the same number of traps they use now. However, if they decide to sell or transfer the FWC-issued certificates that authorize their traps to someone outside their immediate family, the proposed rules would allow sale or transfer of all but 10 percent of those certificates. That would help reduce the overall number of traps in the lobster fishery.
Another final public hearing will take place on proposed rules that would add new fish and invertebrate species to marine life (aquarium species) regulations, establish or change size and bag limits and gear specifications for several marine life species, and make other administrative and technical marine life rule changes.
The FWC also will hold a final public hearing on a proposed rule that would help efforts to identify and remove lost and abandoned blue crab traps from Florida waters. The rule would establish six regional closed seasons to the harvest of blue crabs with traps. That would provide opportunities for authorized persons and groups to clean up trap debris left in the water after fishermen remove their working traps during the proposed closed seasons.
The meeting will convene at 8:30 a.m. on both days.
FWC meetings are open to the public, and anyone requiring special accommodations to participate in the meeting should advise the FWC at least five days prior to Feb. 4 by contacting the FWC’s Office of Human Resources at (850) 488-6411. If you are hearing- or speech-impaired, contact the FWC using the Florida Relay Service at (800) 955-8771 (TDD) or (800) 955-8770 (voice).
The full agenda is available online at myfwc.com/commission/2009/Feb09/index.htm