Melissa S. Razdrih
Attention anglers, the recreational harvest season for greater amberjack in Gulf waters will be open August 1 to October 31.
This harvest period applies to gulf state and federal waters, only, because the harvesting of greater amberjack in Atlantic waters open year-round.
For Floridian amberjack enthusiasts who have been waiting to hit the gulf since the season closed early last May, it’s important to understand regulations before you do.
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Committee (FWC) said in a news release Monday, “recreational regulations include a minimum size limit of 34 inches fork length and a daily bag limit of one per person.”
It’s of important note to anglers who frequent both Gulf and Atlantic waters, the 34-inch minimum limit that applies to Gulf waters differs from the 28-inch minimum for the state’s Atlantic waters. Both have a daily bag limit of one per person.
If your fishing trip includes a private boat or another recreational private vessel on the water, you need to sign up as a Gulf Reef Fish Angler before you head out to your fishing destination. The registry is subject to annual renewal, and that even applies to anglers 65 years and up.
The FWC has a special message for anglers offering guided fishing charters:
“Any charter, headboat and saltwater fishing guide operation that does not have a federal reef fish permit and targets or harvests red snapper, vermilion snapper, gag grouper, red grouper, black grouper, gray triggerfish, greater amberjack, lesser amberjack, banded rudderfish, or almaco jack in Gulf of Mexico state waters (excluding Monroe County) must have Gulf Reef Fish State For-Hire on their license.
“You cannot harvest red snapper or the reef fish listed above without the ‘State Gulf Reef Fish Charter’ designation. This can be added no cost to your license at your local tax collectors office.”
If you have any questions about regulations, commercial or recreational, visit MyFWC.com/Marine.
