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Florida Regulations

No commercial harvest inside SPZ

Slot Limit: 11" - 20" fork length

Closed Season: None

Daily Bag Limit: Zero

Daily Incidental Bycatch Limit: 100 permit for persons fishing for other species in federal waters with gill or entangling nets, as long as such person possesses a saltwater products license with a restricted species endorsement

Slot Limit: 11" - 20" fork length

Closed Season: None

Daily Bag Limit: 250 pompano

Daily Incidental Bycatch Limit: 100 pompano for persons fishing for other species in federal waters with gill or entangling nets, as long as such person possesses as saltwater products license with a restricted species endorsement.

Allowable Gear: Hook and line, cast net and beach or haul seine only.

Prohibited Gear: Multiple hook in conjunction with live or natural bait. 

Remarks: Florida Pompano caught as incidental bycatch in federal waters must be transported through state waters without stopping.

Minimum Size Limits: 11" - 20" fork length

Closed Season: None

Daily Bag Limit: Unlimited

Allowable Gear: Gill and entangling nets, hook and line, cast net and beach or haul seine only.

Prohibited Gear: Multiple hook in conjunction with live or natural bait. 

Remarks:

Must have Pompano endorsement to use gill and entangling nets in the PEZ (Federal waters between Hurricane Pass and Cape Sable in the Gulf).

Must transit all harvested fish directly through state waters to land without stopping and must be landed between Cape Sable and Hurricane Pass in Collier County.

Minimum Size Limits: 24" fork length

Closed Season: None

Daily Bag Limit: 2 per person or per vessel whichever is less

Gear: State waters: hook and line only; Federal waters:  Hook and line and spearing

Remarks: No spearing in state waters

Pompano spz

*Permit, Florida pompano and African pompano must be landed in whole condition.

Commercial Florida Pompano Fishing

Without Pompano endorsement

Persons harvesting Florida pompano in state and federal waters who have a saltwater products license with a restricted species endorsement, but do not possess a pompano endorsement, shall be subject to a daily harvest and landing limit of 250 individual Florida pompano.

Simultaneous possession of Florida pompano and gill or entangling nets is prohibited in state waters unless pompano were harvested in federal waters as incidental bycatch. Vessels carrying pompano harvested in federal waters as incidental bycatch with gill and entangling nets must travel directly through state waters to land without stopping.

Incidental bycatch harvested with gill or entangling nets in federal waters may not exceed 100 Florida pompano.

With Pompano endorsement

Persons harvesting Florida pompano in state and federal waters who have a saltwater products license with a restricted species endorsement and a pompano endorsement can harvest an unlimited number of pompano with gill and entangling nets in addition to allowable gear within the Pompano Endorsement Zone, south of Hurricane Pass and north of Cape Sable.

Florida pompano harvested in federal waters with gill or entangling nets must be landed in Florida within the boundaries of the Pompano Endorsement Zone. Vessels with gill nets and Florida pompano on board at the same time must travel through state waters without stopping.

Gill nets used to directly harvest Florida pompano in federal waters must be at least 400 yards long, at least 70 meshes deep at its shallowest point and have a stretched mesh size of at least 4 1/2 inches throughout.

Management efforts

In June 2011, the Commission amended the rule for permit, Florida pompano and African pompano to further enhance and protect Florida's permit fishery, while also strengthening management of the Florida pompano and African pompano fisheries.

To better manage permit for these different uses, the FWC created a Special Permit Zone, which includes all state and federal waters south of a line running due east from Cape Florida and south of a line running due west from Cape Sable. The remainder of the state (north of these lines) makes up another management zone.

In the Special Permit Zone, the commercial harvest of permit will be prohibited.  Outside this zone no commercial harvest for permit is allowed, however, commercial fishers who are targeting other species with nets outside of the Special Permit Zone are allowed an incidental bycatch trip limit of 100 fish. In addition, the rules extend current FWC Florida pompano commercial gear regulations and commercial trip and size limits into federal waters.