Florida · Greater amberjack
Can you keep a greater amberjack in Florida?
Yes, with limits
gulf
Closed todaySize
34 inches and up
fork length
Daily bag
1
per person per day
Gulf state and federal waters. FWC sets this window fresh each year. Next opening: September 1, 2026. The numbers above are what applies when it is open.
34 inches fork length, one a day, open only September 1 through October 13, 2026 in the Gulf.
atlantic
Open todaySize
28 inches and up
fork length
Daily bag
1
per person per day
Closes each year Closed every April
A smaller 28-inch minimum than the Gulf's 34, one a day, open January through March and May through December — closed only in April.
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.
- 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 in Florida
Where to try today
- Key West 6/10 · Decent
- Navarre Pier 7/10 · Good
- St. Marks River 6/10 · Decent
- Tampa Bay 9/10 · On fire