The purpose of this rule amendment is to eliminate unnecessary language specifying Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 commercial fishing seasons for reef fish and a June 1 through May 31 commercial fishing season for black sea bass in state waters of the Atlantic. This rule was originally intended to give the Commission the ability to close state waters to commercial harvest of these species when adjacent federal waters were closed due to federal quotas being met or exceeded. However, state rules that specify commercial fishing seasons for reef fish and Atlantic black sea bass are no longer necessary to enforce commercial closures and can be removed. Florida’s Reef Fish rule (68B-14) now requires commercial fishermen harvesting federally-managed reef fish species (including black sea bass) to abide by federal season closures in adjacent state waters, so listing these commercial fishing seasons in state rules is no longer necessary. The effect of this rule amendment will be to remove unnecessary and confusing language from the Commission’s Reef Fish rule, which will improve enforceability of state rules and make commercial regulations easier to understand.