At their May meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a temporary modification to the 2022 recreational Blueline Tilefish in Atlantic state waters. Typically the season for blueline tilefish season is open from May 1st to August 31st in the Atlantic state and federal waters. The new season for this year is only open from May 1st to July 25th in state waters, with the season closing on July 26th.
The reason for the shorter season in 2022 is due to NOAA Fisheries projections showing that the recreational catch quota limit for 2022 will be met by July 26th. So in turn, they are closing the fishery early this year to prevent overfishing and to protect the next year’s season and catch quota limit. These modifications of the recreational season in Atlantic state waters are in line with the recent changes in the Atlantic Federal waters. So for our readers who fish the Atlantic coast of Florida remember this summer, Blueline Tilefish are off-limits starting on the 26th of July this year.
It should be noted these modifications do not affect Gulf of Mexico state or federal waters. While in the Atlantic there is a daily bag limit of 1 per person within the 3 grouper/tilefish aggregate, and an annual fishing season. In the Gulf of Mexico, they are an unregulated species in state waters and in federal waters have no limit but part of the 20 reef fish aggregate. This means you are allowed up to twenty fish per day per person as long as you don’t keep any other reef fish.
For more information, including the May 2022 Commission meeting presentation, visit MyFWC.com/Commission and click on “Commission Meetings.”
For current recreational blueline tilefish regulations, visit MyFWC.com/Marine and click on “Recreational Regulations” and “Blueline tilefish.” This page will be updated with the new regulations when they take effect.
