Now moving east to the beautiful Atlantic Ocean where there are excellent opportunities for grouper fishing. There is no harvesting of these in either state or federal waters and they are catch-and-release only. If you’re lucky enough to catch a Goliath Grouper or Nassau Grouper, take a quick picture and release it back to the wild. You can ask your charter captain if the size you have is a keeper or not or refer to the FWC regulations to make sure you’re staying compliant. There are also slot limits for each Grouper. Warsaw Grouper are also available year round, but have a limit of 1 per vessel. These each have a bag limit of 4 per person within the aggregate. It’s open season in both state and federal waters for Rock Hind, Coney, Yellowedge and Snowy Groupers. And state water has an open season year round However, in federal waters you can only harvest these subspecies of Grouper from April to January (closed in February and March). Red Grouper has a bag limit of 2 per person, while the rest have a bag limit of 4 per person, all within the 4 grouper aggregate. Black, Red, Scamp, Yellowfin and Yellowmouth Grouper all have similar regulations in the Gulf. There is a bag limit of 2 per person within 4 grouper aggregate (which means you’re only allowed a total of 4 grouper per person, no matter what subspecies of Grouper you catch). Everywhere else the state water regulations start June 1 and end December 31 this is the same for federal water regulations as well. For counties of Franklin, Wakulla, Taylor and Jefferson (in the Panhandle area from Apalachicola to Steinhatchee) there is open season in state waters from April 1 to June 30, and again from September 1 to December 31. For Gag Grouper fishing in the Gulf, it’s important to note what county you’re embarking from. This is important to keep in mind as there are different regulations for what’s in season and what you can harvest depending on if you’re in state or federal waters.
Beyond that 9 miles is considered federal waters. If you’re fishing state waters you’ll be within 9 miles of the coast. Popular fishing destinations along the Sunshine State’s west coast, Panama City Beach, Tampa. The Gulf covers most of Florida’s west coast, from Pensacola in the Panhandle to the start of the Everglades at the tip of the peninsula. That provides commercial and recreational anglers plenty of fishing opportunities. The FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) manages the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean differently, and it’s important to know what’s in season and what you can harvest from each shoreline. But which coast you’re on (Gulf Coast to the west or Atlantic Coast to the east) will determine what you can harvest and when. Fishing for Grouper off the Florida coast is always a day of fun and excitement.
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