Florida · Gag grouper
Can you keep a gag grouper in Florida?
Yes, with limits
This one moves. FWC has changed the season for this species mid-year before, so treat the status below as of this morning and check again before you go.
gulf
Closed to harvestClosed by FWC from September 15, 2025 through August 31, 2026, after a quota overage shortened the 2025 season. The two-fish bag applies only when a season is open. Next opening: August 31, 2026. The numbers above are what applies when it is open.
Also needed: State Reef Fish Angler designation, free, for private vessels
When open, two per person inside the four-grouper Gulf aggregate, and none for charter captain and crew.
atlantic
Open todayFWC closed Atlantic state waters to gag grouper by executive order effective 12:01 a.m. on August 2, 2026, to end overfishing. No reopening date was stated.
Also needed: State Reef Fish Angler designation, free, for private vessels
One gag or black grouper inside the three-grouper aggregate, plus two per vessel per day. With gag closed, only black grouper can fill that slot.
monroe
Open todayFWC's executive order names all state waters off Monroe County in the Atlantic closure effective August 2, 2026.
Also needed: State Reef Fish Angler designation, free, for private vessels
Same aggregate and vessel cap as the Atlantic region.
What we left out on purpose
- Atlantic red snapper is deliberately left unstated. FWC's dedicated season page and its general snapper table give different size and bag figures, and a federal court ruling on May 21, 2026 postponed the state management season. Publishing either number would be a guess.
- Gag grouper is in flux on both coasts: the Gulf is closed through August 31, 2026 after a quota overage, and the Atlantic and Monroe closed by executive order effective August 2, 2026 with no stated reopening. The dates here are what FWC published; the daily rebuild re-evaluates them.
- The Gulf red snapper weekend and holiday schedule was read from a summarised page fetch rather than a raw table. The dates are reproduced as published, but this is the entry most worth re-reading at the agency before a trip.
- Several species carry separate rules inside Biscayne National Park. Those figures are not captured here.
- Mutton snapper spawning-area closures around the Dry Tortugas are referenced in angling literature but did not appear on the FWC page read, so none is listed.
