For most this summer, it will be the same as many others, extremely busy.  For FWC and DEP, it will be a reunion.  In 1999, The Florida Marine Patrol (FMP), from under the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), merged with the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission (GFC) to become the Florida Fish and Wildlife… Read More

To so many people it really isn’t a big deal.  For the people here in the Keys, it’s a really big deal.  We hold festivals where we celebrate the harvest of lobster, stone crab, and other fish in much the same way farming communities hold festivals to celebrate their harvests.  This year’s Seafood Festival in… Read More

Many of today’s anglers practice catch-and-release fishing out of a concern for conservation, not because of regulatory requirements.  In addition, there are some fisheries in Florida, such as bonefish and tarpon, which are already predominantly catch-and-release.  Tarpon are not commercially harvested and support a large, economically important recreational fishery, particularly in theFlorida Keys where they… Read More

They were new clients that had called and wanted “Big Fish” on an offshore charter – a very common request for any charter boat from Key Largo to Key West.  At 7:00 AM our party arrived and boarded the Premium Time.  Captain Seth went through the safety speech, and I climbed up to the second… Read More