State wildlife regulators have closed fishing for snook, bonefish and tarpon because of damage to fish stocks caused by last week's freezing temperatures.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday banned fishing for snook until Sept. 1. The commission also banned fishing for bonefish and tarpon until April 1. All three are popular game fish.
The bans are intended to let fish populations recover from cold-related fatalities. It will also give researchers time to assess the scope of damage caused by the weather, FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said in a written statement.
Last week's freezing temperatures caused widespread fish kills in rivers, Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
The order also lets people remove cold-killed fish from the water and from shorelines without buying a permit. The fish can't be eaten and must be disposed of properly.
Bill Robinson, owner of Gandy Bait and Tackle, said he doesn't expect the ban to affect business at all. Even with the ban, recreational fishermen are allowed to catch the fish as long they throw them back in the water, he added.
"Most of our customers ... are the sportsmen type," he said. "Catch and release. Take a picture, let it go."
People don't tend to eat snook, he said, and the fish many prefer to eat, red fish, trout, sheephead and snapper, are not included in the ban.
Robinson said it is difficult to say to what extent the snook stock was depleted.
"It's hard to say if it's drastic or not," he said. "If there's a million snook and 10,000 of them die, that's not drastic. If there's 20,000 snook and 20,000 die, that could be drastic."
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