For anglers who still have enough money left in the bank to buy gasoline and insurance — or a boat in the driveway not yet owned by the bank — there’s good news and bad news when it comes to fishing in the New Year.
The good news is this: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s and the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council‘s reign of error is over for another year.
The bad news is that both are greasing up the thumbscrews and tightening the racks for 2012.
Their regulatory wish list for 2012 includes possible annual catch limits for pelagic species such as sailfish, wahoo, king mackerel, dolphin and blackfin tuna.
But the real scheme has federal fishing managers giddy.
It’s called Catch Shares. These can be — and are — disguised as Individual Fishing Quotas or a list of bureaucratic acronyms solely designed to rob the public of fishing rights; then give them to the strongest lobby or sell them off to the highest bidder.
Call it the reverse Robin Hood theorem of marine management.
But there’s enough regulation on the books right now to sink the maritime economies of historic fishing towns such as St. Augustine and Fernandina Beach. In the charter, commercial and recreational realm the bread and butter of the bottom fishing industry is the big four: red snapper, vermillion snapper, black sea bass and grouper.
Snapper is closed indefinitely. Black seabass was closed months early in October and will remain closed until June 1. Vermillion snapper is closed until March 31. And grouper fishing closes Jan. 1 through April 30.
The offshore bottom fishing cupboard is bare. There’s no need for commercial or recreational guys to burn gas.
And if charter captains are honest up-front, few potential customers will be willing to pay to practice catch-and-release on these species.
NOAA is pushing the throttles full forward in its attempt to privatize the ocean. The initial target in the coming year will be commercial fishermen. But proposals are already written with the weekend fishermen in mind.
State waters
While the federal agencies decide marine management apparently by rock-scissors-paper, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission works hard to gather real data on fish stocks and uses it to strike a balance between fish and fishermen. It has employed strict bag, size and slot limits on fish for years. The result is a resurgence of redfish and speckled seatrout from dangerously low stocks.
This has never been more evident than 2012.
Because spawning and escapement numbers are so high, the FWC is actually increasing the limit on the two most popular brackish water species — the seatrout and redfish. Beginning in February the seatrout daily limit goes up from five to six fish. Size limit remains a 15- to 20-inch slot, with one fish allowed over 20 inches. The closed season in February has been lifted as well. At the same time, the limit on redfish doubles from one to two fish per person per day. Commercial seatrout fishermen also go an expanded season.
In a few instances state rules and federal rules differ.
Florida controls waters out to three miles offshore on the Atlantic coast; nine in the Gulf. Red snapper theoretically can be caught in state waters, though there are very few snapper in that shallow. Black sea bass remains open in state waters and the limit remains 15 fish with a 12-inch minimum size limit. For cobia, the state allows one fish per person. In federal waters its two fish per person. But both have a vessel limit of six fish.
Freshwater
There are no new freshwater regulations that affect Northeast Florida.
Hunting
The FWC initiated major season changes in 2011, all designed to better take advantage of the deer rut in different parts of the state. There are no new regulations, size or bag limits in the New Year. One interesting change this year is the special youth turkey hunting weekend on public land. The hunt opened in 2011, but on private land only. This year Wildlife Management Areas are hosting the hunts. The hunts are for youth under 16. They’re scheduled the weekend prior to the opening of the general spring turkey season. The kids won’t need licenses or permits but the adult accompanying them will. The adult is allowed only to set decoys and call turkeys in. The special hunt is March 10-11.
Not all the WMAs hold the hunt and some require quota permits. Don’t dawdle. The quotas are being filled now. Log on to MyFWC.com for specifics or call the WMA you’re interested in hunting.
Here are rules for our more popular fish in 2012:
Amberjack — 28-inch to fork; bag limit one
Bass (largemouth, Suwannee, shoal and spotted) – One over 22 inches; bag limit five
Black sea bass — 12 inches; bag limit five; currently closed in federal waters; open in state
Bluefish — 12 inches; bag limit 10
Catfish — not regulated
Cobia — 33 inches; bag limit two in federal waters, one in state waters
Crappie — No minimum; bag limit 25
Cubera snapper — 36 inches; bag limit two
Dolphin — 20 inches; bag limit 10
Drum — Slot 14-24 inches; bag limit five
Flounder — 12 inches; bag limit 10
Grouper — Size, bag limits and seasons vary widely on different species. Check current regulations at safmc.net
King mackerel — 24 inches; bag limit two
Lane snapper — 8 inches; bag limit 10
Mangrove snapper — 12 inches; bag limit 10
Mullet (black or silver) — no minimum; bag limit 50
Panfish (shellcracker, bluegill, warmouth, redbreast etc.) — No minimum; bag limit 50
Pompano — 11 inches; bag limit six
Redfish — slot 18-27 inches; bag limit 2 (Feb. 1)
Red porgy — 14 inches; bag limit three
Sheepshead — 12 inches; bag limit 15
Spanish mackerel — 12 inches; bag limit 15
Speckled seatrout — slot 15-20 inches, one over 20; bag limit 6 (Feb. 1)
Striper: (including sunshine and white bass) — six over 24 inches; bag limit 20
Tarpon — no minimum; bag limit two (with $50 tags)
Triggerfish — 12 inches; bag limit 20
Vermillion snapper — 12 inches; bag limit five - currently closed
Wahoo — no minimum; bag limit two
Weakfish (yellowmouth trout) — no minimum; bag limit 50
Whiting — not regulated