Management Zones

Name: eRegulations
Price range: $

Luc and Nola Williams smiling on a boat while holding a redfish, with open water in the background during a Florida recreational fishing trip. — Luc and Nola Williams show off a beautiful redfish caught during a Florida recreational fishing trip, highlighting family-friendly angling and memorable experiences on the water.

Red Drum Management Zones

For red drum, there are nine management zones. The daily bag limit is one fish in all the Florida state waters, except for the Indian River Lagoon region where red drum are catch-and-release only. Zero bag limit for captain and crew.

Map of Florida showing proposed redfish management regions along the coastline, with different colors representing fishing areas such as the Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, and Southeast regions. — Map illustrating proposed redfish management regions in Florida, highlighting coastal areas used for regional fisheries management and recreational fishing regulations.

Spotted Seatrout Management Zones

Spotted seatrout has five management zones and the recreational bag limit is three fish in the western panhandle region, five fish in the big bend region, three fish in the south region, two fish in the central east region and five fish in the northeast region.

Map of Florida showing spotted seatrout management regions along the coastline, with color-coded areas including the Western Panhandle, Big Bend, South, Central East, and Northeast regions. — Map illustrating Florida’s spotted seatrout management regions, used to guide regional fishing regulations and conservation efforts across coastal waters.

Erin Parker holding a snook beside a boat while fishing in Florida coastal waters, smiling and practicing responsible catch-and-release. — Erin Parker displays a snook during a Florida recreational fishing trip, highlighting responsible angling and conservation-minded catch-and-release practices.

Snook Management Zones

Snook Regional Management

FWC has implemented a regional management approach for snook that brings a holistic view to management decisions using multiple metrics to evaluate the fishery on a smaller regional scale.
There are seven metrics used in the evaluation: spawning potential ratio (SPR), habitat, harmful algal blooms (HABs), relative abundance, fishing effort, temperature, and stakeholder feedback.
FWC staff will annually evaluate the snook fishery in each region using the metrics, and key findings will be summarized in Annual Review publications.
The management regions extend inland, as shown on the map, and into adjacent federal waters.
To see the latest snook annual reviews for each management region, visit the snook management and annual review page.

Regional Regulations

Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay
Open season: March–April, September–November
Bag limit: one fish
Slot limit: 28–33 inches

Charlotte Harbor, Southwest
Open season: March–April, October–November
Bag limit: one fish
Slot limit: 28–33 inches

Southeast, Indian River Lagoon, Northeast
Open season: February–May, September–Dec. 14
Bag limit: one fish
Slot limit: 28–32 inches

Map of Florida showing snook management regions along the coastline, with color-coded areas including the Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Southwest, Southeast, and Indian River Lagoon. — Map illustrating Florida’s snook management regions, used to guide regional fishing regulations and conservation management across coastal waters.