Florida · Gag grouper
Gag grouper size limit in Florida
You can keep one today — within these 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
Open today| Size limit | 24 inches and up | total length |
|---|---|---|
| Daily bag | 2 | per person per day |
FWC set the 2026 Gulf season by executive order to September 1-30, matching the federal Gulf season; harvest closes again on October 1 for the rest of the year. Before that the fishery was shut from September 15, 2025 through August 31, 2026, after a quota overage cut the 2025 season short.
Also needed: State Reef Fish Angler designation, free, for private vessels
A single thirty-day window this year. Two per person inside the four-grouper Gulf aggregate while it is open, and none for charter captain and crew.
atlantic
Closed today| Size limit | 24 inches and up | total length |
|---|---|---|
| Daily bag | 1 | per person per day |
FWC's table gives the Atlantic season as May 1 to August 1 for state and federal waters alike. The August 2 shutdown was not simply that window running out - FWC issued an executive order in May that closes Atlantic state waters from August 2 through December 31, 2026, and the agency ties it to a closure in federal waters. Two limits sit alongside the daily bag: no more than two gag per vessel per day, and for-hire captains and crew may keep none. The numbers above are what applies when it is open.
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
Closed today| Size limit | 24 inches and up | total length |
|---|---|---|
| Daily bag | 1 | per person per day |
Monroe County state waters follow the Atlantic rules, including the May 1 to August 1 season and the executive-order closure that runs from August 2 through December 31, 2026. The numbers above are what applies when it is open.
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 marks the 2026 season 'Temporarily Postponed' and gives one set of figures; its general snapper table shows the fishery open with a different size and bag limit. The agency does not say why the season was postponed, and we are not going to fill that gap with a reason of our own. 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.
- Red drum and spotted seatrout were missing entirely until the 2026-08-08 check despite being Florida's two most iconic inshore species. Both are found here grouped by zone rather than listing all nine FWC management zones individually — every zone with an identical rule is combined into one region, so no figure differs from FWC's own breakdown.
- The old FWC 'quickchart.pdf' summary (last modified December 2023) was found during this pass and deliberately not used — it predates the 2025–2026 gag grouper closures and the current red snapper season structure by more than two years.
- Snapper and grouper species beyond what is already carried here — including cubera, schoolmaster and gray triggerfish, tilefish and vermilion snapper — were not individually re-checked on 2026-08-08. Only the species already on this page, plus red drum, spotted seatrout, king mackerel, greater amberjack and hogfish, were verified this pass.
Other species limits in Florida
Where to try today
- Key West 5/10 · Picky
- Lake Okeechobee 6/10 · Biting
- Navarre Pier 3/10 · Lockjaw
- St. Marks River 5/10 · Picky
- Tampa Bay 4/10 · Picky