Florida’s gamefish populations – bonefish and snook among them – suffered greatly at the hands of the recent freezing temperatures.

Now, it appears in order to preserve gamefish populations, Florida’s wildlife agency has banned catch & kill fishing for tarpon, snook and bonefish (though catch & release fishing is still allowed):

From the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust site:

The cold weather in Florida has caused mortalities of numerous coastal gamefishes.  The night temperature reached down to freezing along coastal areas in the central and southern part of the state three or four nights in a row.  Reports of dead bonefish came from in the Upper Keys and scattered reports of small tarpon statewide. The FWC has closed these fisheries to harvest even though few tarpon are kept, and the limit on bonefish is only one per person per day (yes, some are still harvested in South Florida). Catch and release fishing for these species is still allowed. The FWC is taking this proactive, precautionary approach to ensure the long-term health of the fisheries. As temperatures warm, guides and anglers are finding hungry fish coming in from deeper waters.

In addition to bonefish and tarpon, snook took a big hit. The most recent estimates were of >100,000 snook dead statewide. If true, this would be almost 7% of the total snook population in Florida.  The FWC has responded by canceling the opening of the snook season, due to open February 1. Adding this to the summer closed season, this means that snook can’t be harvested until fall.

Planning a trip to Florida? Check the regs before you go.

See you where it’s supposed to be cold, Tom Chandler.