FWC approves rule changes for Gulf lane snapper

At its November meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved rule changes for lane snapper in Florida's Gulf state waters to be more consistent with current and pending federal regulations.

Approved modifications of lane snapper in Gulf state waters include:

• Increasing the commercial and recreational minimum size limit from 8 inches to 10 inches total length.
• Establishing a 20-fish-per-person recreational bag limit.

These changes are intended to reduce the risk of overfishing, mitigate the likelihood of early closures, and increase consistency between Gulf state and federal waters. The new Gulf lane snapper recreational regulations will go into effect on April 1, 2026.

For the full Commission Meeting Nov 5-6 agenda including links to background reports, go to MyFWC.com/About and click on "The Commission" and "Commission Meetings."