Blue crab closed seasons proposed to aid cleanups

Blue crab closed seasons proposed to aid cleanups

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) proposed a draft rule Thursday that would establish six regional closed seasons to the harvest of blue crabs with traps. These closures would extend for a period of up to 10 days each to help efforts to identify and retrieve lost and abandoned blue crab traps from Florida waters.

Lost and abandoned blue crab traps have been cited as a problem in the blue crab fishery because they sometimes interfere with other fishing activities and can continue to trap crabs and fish when they are not maintained. They are also unsightly in the marine environment, can damage sensitive habitats and pose navigational hazards to boaters.

It is illegal to tamper with properly licensed and maintained blue crab traps, and lost and abandoned traps cannot easily be distinguished from legal traps, so they often remain in the water indefinitely. Regional closures of up to 10 days would allow authorized groups to collect lost and abandoned blue crab traps that remain in the water after fishermen remove their working traps during the closed periods.

After consulting with its Blue Crab Advisory Board and receiving input from the public, the FWC is proposing annual blue crab harvest closures as follows:

• in all waters of the St. Johns River system from Jan. 16-25,
• all other coastal waters from the Georgia/Florida state line south through Volusia County from Aug. 20-29,
• all waters of Brevard County through Palm Beach County from Aug. 10-19,
• all waters of Broward County through Pasco County from July 10-19,
• all waters of Hernando County through Wakulla County from July 20-29, and
• all waters of Franklin County to the Florida/Alabama state line from Jan. 5-14.

Except for the St. Johns River system closure, all of the proposed blue crab trap harvest closures would extend from the shoreline out to three nautical miles and include all inland waters in the regions. An existing Sept. 20 - Oct. 4 closed season in the Gulf of Mexico from three to nine miles offshore would be retained.

The proposed closures would apply only to standard blue crab traps. The harvest of blue crabs by other gear, such as dip nets and fold-up traps, would still be permitted during the closures. The closures would also apply to recreational harvesters who use standard blue crab traps unless the traps are attached to private property.

A final public hearing on these rule proposals will take place in February in Destin.