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
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.