2024 Lobster rule change- HUGE !

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It must be working because everyone is scrambling to book boats & rooms. There's boats already sold out for the 14th.

The sensible thing to do is go nowhere near the water on said date. :wink: I know many love it but I want no part of the insanity of mini-season.
 
I assume it will not pertain to federal water?
I also wasn't sure it would pass this hurdle at SAFMC{the feds},,,,,But it did !!
Updated today - July 14th is open & legal in Federal waters.
Link = Lobster, Spiny - South Atlantic Fishery Management Council

Fed-Lob-Regs-July14th.jpg
 
WOW that is crazy. The governor make an arbitrary economic decision and the Federal agencies who manage the natural resources immediately say - sure go for it. Makes you wonder if they could open the Red Snapper for more than one, week-day a year.
 
Let me get this right? The state is going to prevent non-florida residents from harvesting, and the feds open up federal water to the same harvest, but is the federal government going to prevent residents from other states from accessing the federal water? If so, why?

Also, if the federal water IS open to non-residents, then the state is going to have a very hard time enforcing the state restrictions. How does this work?
 
Are there federal waters shallow enough to be within recreational diver limits?
 
Are there federal waters shallow enough to be within recreational diver limits?
Just my 2cents, but most recreational bug hunters will not generally dive the 130ft areas. But most of them will gladly dive the 85-90ft stuff for bugs. At those depths COMBINED with 3 mile federal waters you need to be anything north of the famous Breaker's Reef in West Palm. There will be spots deeper in those areas and the bottom changes so it's a grey north line. This whole announced change has never been done before, it's completely new and confusing until the FWC publishes it's rules. Even the FWC law enforcement field officers do not have clear direction on how to enforce this yet (let alone no money allocated to enforce it). We have a short 2 weeks to figure it out. This kinda reminds me of diving Covid boat charters when we had to wear masks and sit 3 feet apart.....it was friggin wild & confusing.
 

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