6583019, 68B-14.0038 - Florida Administrative Rules, Law, Code, Register

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Florida Department of State and Division of Library and Information Services

Notice: 6583019

Notice of Proposed Rule

Department:

FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION

Division:

Marine Fisheries

Chapter:

REEF FISH

Overview

RULE:

68B-14.0038

Recreational Snapper Seasons

PURPOSE:

The purpose of these rule amendments is to modify the Commission’s Reef Fish Rule to become consistent with federal reef fish regulations for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Based on federally established benchmarks, the red snapper stocks in the Gulf of Mexico are overfished and have been undergoing overfishing since the late 1980’s. The most recent red snapper stock assessment (2005) indicates continued overfishing is compromising the objectives of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s red snapper rebuilding plan, which is designed to end overfishing of red snapper by 2009 and to rebuild the red snapper stock to sustainable levels by 2032. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council developed regulatory actions in Amendment 27 to their Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan, and Amendment 14 to their Shrimp Fishery Management Plan. Amendment 27/14 addresses recreational and commercial harvest of red snapper, and establishes bag limits, size limits, and seasons. The success of the red snapper rebuilding plan depends not only upon consistency with the bag limit, size limit, and the fishing season regulations in federal waters, but also with the five states in the Gulf of Mexico adopting rules that are consistent with the federal rules in Gulf state waters.
Florida plays a particularly important role in the success of the red snapper rebuilding plan because Florida’s recreational fishery accounts for a large proportion of the recreational red snapper catch, which is the primary source of red snapper fishing mortality in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Not doing so will not only directly affect the rebuilding plan, but may affect Florida’s recreational red snapper fishery to a greater extent if it results in further restrictions on harvest in federal waters in the future, as the majority of the state’s recreational fishery occurs in federal waters. The effect of these rule amendments is that federal and state regulations will be consistently applied. Where practicable, this minimizes confusion with the public and aids enforceability.

SUMMARY:

Rule 68B-14.0038 F.A.C., (Recreational Red Snapper Season) would amend the Commission’s Reef Fish Rule governing the recreational red snapper fishing season such that it is consistent with the recreational red snapper fishing season in federally-managed waters of the Gulf of Mexico as published in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would change the recreational red snapper fishing season from April 15 through October 31 to June 1 through September 30.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY:

Article IV, Section 9, Florida Constitution.

LAW:

Article IV, Section 9, Florida Constitution.

PRINT PUBLISH DATE:

12/31/2008 Vol. 34/53

COMMENTS:

From 12/31/2008 To 1/21/2009 (21 Days)
The public comment period for this notice has already expired.

REFERENCE MATERIALS:

No reference(s).

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