Red Snapper dates announced June 4-July 28.

mburke001 aka TripleB

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/2d01e50

Salty Dawg44

I got that email today. Hopefully I'll be recovered and out on the water again by then.

Crkr23

I appreciate the days that we get, but sure seems to be the wrong time of the year. Why don't they wait until after they spawn, seems like that would make fishery more sustainable.

ANUMBER1

dead fish is a dead fish and will never spawn again.
I'm sure the slot size is figured in with the SSB in mind.

Crkr23

Don't they make y'all release egg bearing female crabs.

ANUMBER1

Crkr23 said:

Don't they make y'all release egg bearing female crabs.

yep but we still keep sooks that have been bred but aren't showing a egg sponge.

Crkr23

Dead crab is a dead crab,dead fish is a dead fish.

ANUMBER1

Crkr23 said:

Dead crab is a dead crab,dead fish is a dead fish.

pretty much what I said...

ANUMBER1

and your moot point is?

Slacker

if there are spawning aggregations that make the fish or crabs more vulnerable there may be good cause for restrictions.  In the case of the blue crab it is interesting to consider that this egg bearing female is so close that she is more valuable than  a juvenile female that must make it to that age and get by all those predators before spawn.

odds are the female bearing eggs is more likely to reproduce

the folks making the rules have a lot of things to consider and I think they generally(in Florida) do an outstanding job

Crkr23

ANUMBER1 said:

and your moot point is?

Pretty simple, if that dead snapper in my fish box that is full of eggs had been caught 3 months later, there just might be a few hundred more juvenile snapper swimming around.

ANUMBER1

and if the season was 3 months earlier that snapper wouldn't have spawned anyway.

capt louie

I'm just glad we can get a couple. Seeing the limit is only two per person.. 
In the past I don't recall seeing any roe  but wasn't really looking.

Crkr23

May, June,and July are their main months for spawning, can run until September.

Doc Stressor

This topic seems to come up every year. Indeed, it doesn't really matter if you take fish before or during a spawning season at a population level.  

BUT, while red snappers do not form large spawning aggregations at a specific site, they are broadcast spawners that typically require a critical density of fish for effective reproduction.  A sufficient number of mature females and males must be present to trigger spawning activity and proper fertilization.  So fishing down a population during the summer spawning season at sites where they are abundant would not be the best idea.  However,  not much has been reported on red snapper spawning behavior.  Without evidence, this would not be a part of a management decision. 

Soda Popinski

i'm gonna try and get out once this season.   It's a long run in a 21' bay boat.   I don't really know how far but i'm sure it's far.   

Salty Dawg44

Soda Popinski said:

i'm gonna try and get out once this season.   It's a long run in a 21' bay boat.   I don't really know how far but i'm sure it's far.   

 Out of Homosassa from marker R-4, you can figure a 40 mile run to start..

Nobel

Last year we were able to get a few in 60', about 30 miles, in early June out of CK.  After that it was about 80 right at 40 miles.