Florida Administrative Code

Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const., Chapter 83-134, Laws of Fla., as amended by Chapter 84-121, Laws of Fla. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const., Chapter 83-134, Laws of Fla., as amended by Chapter 84-121, Laws of Fla. History-New 1-1-91, Formerly 46-38.00…

Striped mullet and silver mullet are hereby designated as restricted species pursuant to Section 379.101(32), F.S. Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History-New 10-19-89, Amended 9-1-91, 11-16-98, Formerly 46-39.001, Am…

As used in this rule chapter: (1) "East Region" means all Florida Waters of the Atlantic Ocean along the east coast of Florida lying between the Florida-Georgia border and the Monroe-Dade county line, and adjacent federal waters. (2) "Harvest for commercial purposes" means the ta…

(1) Recreational size limit - There is no size limit for striped or silver mullet applicable to recreational harvesters. (2)(a) Commercial size limit - Except as provided in paragraph (b), a commercial harvester may not harvest or land from Florida Waters or possess in or on Flor…

(1) Recreational Bag Limit - Except as provided in Rule 68B-39.0045, F.A.C. for portions of Pinellas County, and Rule 68B-39.0046, F.A.C. for portions of Charlotte County, a recreational harvester may not harvest or possess within or without Florida Waters or land more than a tot…

(1) Striped mullet - (a) Except as provided in paragraph (1)(b) and Rule 68B-39.0045, 68B-39.0046, or 68B-39.008, F.A.C., a commercial harvester is not subject to a daily bag limit for striped mullet. (b) During the period beginning November 1 each year and continuing through Jan…

(1) During the period beginning October 1 each year and continuing through January 31 of the following year, no recreational or commercial harvester may harvest or possess within the areas described in subsection (2), more than five striped mullet per day. During this period, the…

(1) During the period beginning on November 1 each year and continuing through the last day of February of the following year, no recreational or commercial harvester shall harvest or attempt to harvest any striped mullet within the area described in subsection (2), during the pe…

Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History-New 3-3-97, Amended 1-1-98, 11-16-98, 12-31-98, Formerly 46-39.0047, Amended 12-2-99, 7-1-01, 7-1-03, Repealed 5-16-19.

During the period beginning February 1 and continuing through the last day of February each year, the harvest for commercial purposes of silver mullet in the East Region is prohibited. During this period in this region, all harvesters are subject to the recreational bag, possessi…

(1) A person may harvest or attempt to harvest striped mullet or silver mullet only by or with the use of the following gear: (a) Cast net with a stretched length (the distance from the horn at the center of the net, with the net gathered and pulled taut, to the lead line) no gre…

(1) A person may not purchase or sell any silver mullet harvested on any weekend during the period beginning on July 1 each year and continuing through January 31 of the following year. (2) A person may may not purchase or sell any silver mullet harvested from waters of the East …

A person may not harvest or possess striped or silver mullet for commercial purposes in waters of the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of America offshore of the three nautical mile line (formerly known as the territorial sea line) or offshore of the Everglades National Park Line, which sh…

As used in Division 68B, F.A.C., unless otherwise defined: (1) "Breakaway gear" means any bob, float, weight, lure, or spoon that is affixed to a fishing line or hook with wire, line, rubber bands, plastic ties, or other fasteners designed to break off when a fish is caught. (2) …

Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Art. X, Sec. 16, Fla. Const. History-New 11-26-92, Amended 1-1-97, Formerly 46-4.0025, Repealed 9-1-13.

(1) Each seine fished with, set, or placed in the water shall be tended. (2)(a) Each seine fished with, set, or placed in the water shall be legibly marked at each end with the saltwater products license number of the person in possession of the seine or of the vessel on which th…

(1) This rule is intended to implement prohibitions and restrictions of Article X, Section 16 of the Florida Constitution. As used there and in this rule, the term "net" or "netting" shall be broadly construed to include all manner or combination of mesh or webbing or any other s…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3), the transport aboard any vessel of any of the following gear is prohibited, unless such transport is as direct, continuous, and expeditious as possible from the place where the vessel is regularly docked, moored, or otherwise stored to wa…

(1)(a) All persons taking food fish from any of the waters of this state by use of seines, nets, or other fishing devices and not using any of such fish because of size or other reasons shall immediately release and return such fish alive to the water from which taken and no such…

Beginning January 1, 1993, hook and line gear used in or on the waters of the State shall be tended. The term "tended" for purposes of this rule means that the person fishing the gear is physically present at the terminus of the gear. Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Co…

Beginning January 1, 1993, no person shall fish with, set, or place in state waters any longline gear. Except for persons in transit through state waters to fish in and return from the waters of another state or from federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters where the use of s…

(1) No person shall intentionally discard any monofilament fishing line or monofilament netting into or onto the waters of the state. Waste monofilament fishing line and monofilament netting shall be disposed of on land and, if the material is possessed aboard a vessel, it shall …

No person shall use any gasoline or electric motorized vessel to seek, take, or attempt to take any fish in or on Lake Avoca in Pinellas County. Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History-New 3-1-92, Formerly 46-4.010.

No person shall fish with, set, or place any net, other than a cast net or landing or dip net, in the waters of the Faka Union River (also known as the Faka Union Canal), or any tributary thereof, in Collier County, between 25°54.867'' North Latitude southward to the mouth of the…

(1) Powerheads. (a) No person shall use any powerhead to harvest any fish in state waters. Powerheads may be possessed while diving in state waters for the purpose of personal protection. (b) The possession of any fish other than lionfish that has been harvested with a powerhead,…

Beginning January 1, 1993, no person shall harvest any marine fish in any waters of the state with the aid of any spotter plane, except for those species allowed to be harvested with a purse seine pursuant to paragraph 68B-4.0083(1)(c), F.A.C. Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9…

Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const., s. 2, Chapter 83-134, Laws of Fla., as amended by Chapter 84-121, Laws of Fla. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const., s. 2, Chapter 83-134, Laws of Fla., as amended by Chapter 84-121, Laws of Fla. History-New 7-1-93, Amend…

The requirements in this rule shall apply in the Panhandle Region, which shall include the state waters of Gulf, Bay, Walton, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Escambia Counties. (1) No person shall fish with, set, or place any beach or haul seine in the waters of the region described in…

The requirements in this rule shall apply in the Southwest Region, which shall include the state waters of Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough, and Pinellas Counties. (1) In Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier Counties, a two net seine, consisting …

(1) BOCA GRANDE PASS - For purposes of the restrictions specified in subsections (2) and (3), Boca Grande Pass shall consist of all waters located within the following boundaries: Begin at the westernmost edge of the Phosphate Dock (26°43.216' North Latitude, 82°15.517' West Long…

No person shall operate any vessel with a trap puller aboard unless such vessel is operated commercially pursuant to a saltwater products license with either a lobster trap endorsement, stone crab trap endorsement, blue crab trap endorsement, sea bass trap endorsement, or a feder…

(1) It is unlawful for any person to fish with, set, or place in the waters of the state any trap other than those listed in this subsection. (a) A blue crab trap authorized by and used according to the requirements of rule Chapter 68B-45, F.A.C. (b) A spiny lobster trap authoriz…

Dolphin are hereby designated as restricted species pursuant to Section 379.101(32), F.S. Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History-New 9-1-13.

As used in Chapter 68B-41, F.A.C. (1) "Atlantic Ocean" means all state waters along the east coast of Florida lying between the Florida-Georgia border and 83° West Longitude (near the Dry Tortugas Islands). (2) "Dolphin" means a fish of the species Coryphaena hippurus or Coryphae…

(1) Recreational Size Limit in the Atlantic Ocean - A recreational harvester may not harvest or land from the Atlantic Ocean or possess in or on the Atlantic Ocean a dolphin that is less than 20 inches in fork length. (2) Commercial Size Limit in Florida Waters - A commercial har…

(1) Recreational Limits - (a) Bag Limit - 1. Gulf of America. A recreational harvester may not harvest or land per day from Florida Waters or possess in or on Florida Waters more than 10 dolphin. 2. Atlantic Ocean. A recreational harvester may not harvest or land per day from Flo…

There is no closed season for dolphin. Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History-New 1-1-91, Amended 1-1-98, Formerly 46-41.005, Amended 9-1-13.

(1) Allowed Gear and Method of Harvest - A person may harvest or attempt to harvest a dolphin within or without Florida Waters only by or with the use of hook and line gear and spearing. (2) Prohibited Gear and Method of Harvest - (a) A person may not harvest or attempt to harves…

(1) The captain of a Vessel for Hire may sell a dolphin that was harvested aboard a charter vessel pursuant to subsection 68B-41.004(1), F.A.C., if the captain is properly licensed (by both state and federal authorities) to harvest dolphin for commercial purposes. (2) Dolphin har…

A person may not harvest a dolphin for commercial purposes from the Atlantic Ocean, unless they possess a valid federal commercial permit issued pursuant to 50 C.F.R. 622.4(a)(2)(xii) in addition to a valid Saltwater Products License with a Restricted Species Endorsement issued p…

(1)(a) The purpose and intent of this chapter are to protect and conserve Florida's tropical marine life resources and assure the continuing health and abundance of these species. The further intent of this chapter is to assure that harvesters in this fishery use nonlethal method…

As used in this rule chapter: (1) "Barrier net," also known as a "fence net," means a seine used beneath the surface of the water by a diver to enclose and concentrate tropical fish and which may be made of either nylon or monofilament. (2) "Colony" means a continuous group of oc…

No person shall harvest or possess within or without the waters of the state, or land any of the following species: (1) Longspine urchin, Diadema antillarum. (2) Bahama starfish, Oreaster reticulatus. Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec.…

(1) Each person harvesting any tropical ornamental marine life species or any tropical ornamental marine plant within or without state waters shall land such marine organism alive. (2) Each person harvesting any tropical ornamental marine life species or any tropical ornamental m…

(1) No person shall harvest any tropical ornamental marine life species or any tropical ornamental marine plant within Biscayne National Park, unless such person possesses a valid collecting permit issued by the superintendent of the park. (2) For purposes of this rule, the term …

(1) The regulations in this section apply in all state waters and, in absence of any regulations for the species in federal waters, apply in adjacent federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters. (2) Angelfishes: (a) No person shall harvest, possess, or land any of the following …

(1) The regulations in this section apply in all state waters and, in absence of any regulations for the species in federal waters, apply in adjacent federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters. (2) Except as provided in Rule 68B-42.006, F.A.C., or subsection (3) or (4), of this…