The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted on February 26 to establish a four-month no fishing closure at Western Dry Rocks, the most important permit spawning site in the Lower Keys. Conservation organizations celebrated the vote, which capped a year-long effort to protect spawning fish that aggregate at the site.
Guided by science and supported by a broad coalition of fishing and conservation organizations, the closure spans the months of April through July, the heart of spawning season for permit and mutton snapper, and addresses the increasing threat of shark predation in this 1.3-square-mile area.
Research by the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust identified Western Dry Rocks as a critically important spawning site for permit in the Lower Florida Keys, attracting approximately 70 percent of tagged permit that live on Lower Keys flats. Subsequent studies also found that more than one-third of hooked permit at the site were lost to shark predation. Though harvest for permit is prohibited in the Keys during the spawning season, the loss of hooked permit at this scale is impacting the larger Keys permit fishery.
This victory was the result of research conducted by BTT and a coalition of organizations that supported the closure, including Lower Keys Guides Association, IGFA, Florida Keys Fishing Guides Association, American Sportfishing Association, Coastal Conservation Association, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Fly Fishers International, and Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation.
