Florida - Friday December 30, 2022: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has announced that recreational harvest of shallow water grouper, gag groupers, as well as gray triggerfish, closes in Atlantic state waters on January 1, 2023, that includes all state waters of Monroe County.
The shallow water grouper complex includes black, gag, yellowfin, scamp, yellowmouth, red, coney, graysby, red hind and rock hind. Harvest for shallow water grouper will reopen to recreational anglers in Atlantic state waters (including Monroe County) on May 1, 2023.
Season Re-Opening
Recreational harvest of gag grouper for all Gulf state waters, excluding Monroe County, will re-open on Sept. 1, 2023.
This modification of the Gulf gag grouper recreational season was approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at its July 2022 meeting in order to reduce overfishing and improve gag grouper abundance. Recreational harvest of gray triggerfish in Gulf state waters will re-open on March 1, 2023.
The FWC is committed to collecting critical recreational harvest fishing data to inform management of popular reef fish, including gag grouper. The State Reef Fish Survey provides the FWC with a clearer picture of stock health, please make sure you are signed up as a State Reef Fish Angler. This designation is required for recreational anglers and spearfishers who intend to fish for or harvest certain reef fish species from a private vessel in Florida. To learn more about the State Reef Fish Survey, visit MyFWC.com/SRFS.
For current recreational gag grouper regulations, visit MyFWC.com/Marine and click on “Recreational Regulations,” “Reef Fish” and then “Grouper” or download the Fish Rules App.