Gulf, Franklin open Friday to gag grouper harvest
State waters off the coast of Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson and Taylor counties will open to recreational harvest of gag grouper starting Friday. April 1.
This regional season, which will remain open through June 30, includes all waters of Apalachicola Bay and Indian Pass, including those in Gulf County, and all waters of the Steinhatchee River, including those in Dixie County.
State waters off these four counties will reopen to recreational gag harvest Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.
The gag grouper season in the remainder of Gulf of Mexico state and federal waters is open June 1 through Dec. 31. Monroe County state waters follow Atlantic grouper rules.
If you plan to fish for gag grouper from a private recreational vessel off Florida, make sure to sign up as a State Reef Fish Angler prior to the fishing trip. Annual renewal is required. To learn more, visit MyFWC.com/SRFS. Sign up today at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com.
To learn more about grouper regulations, visit MyFWC.com/Marine and click on “Recreational Regulations” and “Groupers.”
Meet the Editor
Wendy Weitzel, The Star’s digital editor, joined the news outlet in August 2021, as a reporter covering primarily Gulf County.
Prior to then, she interned for Oklahoma-based news wire service Gaylord News and for Oklahoma City-based online newspaper NonDoc.com during her four years at the University of Oklahoma, from which she graduated in May with degrees in online journalism and political science.
While at OU, Weitzel was selected as Carnegie-Knight News21 Investigative Fellow among 30 top journalism students from around the country. She also was senior editor managing a 12-person newsroom in coordination with Oklahoma Watch, a non-profit news organization in eastern Oklahoma.