Who sets the calendar rules?

• The FWC sets the rules regarding fishing seasons, and it also enforces the laws surrounding the fishing calendar. The FWC may also change laws regarding fishing seasons. For example, after the record-setting low temperatures in central Florida waters during the early months of 2010, the FWC opted not to allow any snook fishing so the population could recover.
  
  

What type of rules concern the calendar?

• The Florida fishing calendar, or seasons, informs anglers when they may keep certain fish, but the listing (available at the FWC website; link below) also has other important information. The fishing calendar also includes rules governing permissible fish size and daily bag limits as well as how a fish may be caught during the appropriate time of the year.
  
  

What factors go into the calendar's size limits?

• FWC guidelines refer to two types of measurements: length and girth. The total length refers to the longest possible measurement from tip to tail; standard length refers to the length from the tip of the fish's front-most point to the start of its tail fin. The fork length refers to the front-most part of the fish to the fork in the fish's tail fin. Girth refers to the measurement as taken around the widest part of the fish.
  
  

What calendar rules deal with bag limits?

• Each fish on the calendar has bag limits. Bag limits are the number of fish a fisherman may catch and keep every day. In some circumstances, bag limits refer not to the fisherman but the vessel. For example, the FWC rules dictate that, for clams, each fisherman (or harvester) may have no more than one bucket (five gallons or less), but the vessel may have only two buckets total.
  
  

What about species not listed on the calendar?

• Fishermen who want to catch species of fish not listed on the may assume that the FWC does not have a closed season for that species, meaning that species can be caught any time of year. However, the agency does make regular changes based on a variety of factors, and anglers should get in the habit of checking the FWC's website for up-to-date calendars and guidelines before setting off to fish.