Purpose
The purpose of this rule development notice is to address rule amendments for shrimp. The Commission is considering rule changes that will increase recreational access to the shrimp fishery in the Big Bend area; allow commercial food shrimp harvesters to use and possess a high-salinity freezer tank to quickly freeze shrimp; clarify the boundary for the closed area in Santa Rosa Sound; correct the name of the “Live Bait Shrimp License” and update a definition referring to that license; and add a definition of “inland waters” to be consistent with Florida Statutes.
The effect of these rule amendments would be to allow limited recreational harvest of shrimp within the Big Bend area; establish a recreational daily bag limit for shrimp harvested in the Big Bend area; allow the use of high-salinity freezer tanks to quickly freeze shrimp; and to improve the clarity, accuracy, and enforceability of current shrimp regulations and other topics related to shrimp harvest requirements.