Biscayne National Park - Fisheries Awareness Class (U.S. National Park Service)

Fisheries Awareness Class Participants listen to biologist.

NPS Photo

Participants look on as Biscayne fisheries biologist Vanessa McDonough talks about the fishing regulations and their purpose.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Fisheries Awareness Class is a FREE program offered by Biscayne National Park to help you learn more about fishing in our Park. The objective of the course is to produce educated anglers and park visitors that are knowledgeable of the fishing regulations and understand the rationale behind these rules. During the class, some of the things you will learn include:

NPS Photo

Captain Muratori shares some of his experiences from years of fishing in South Florida

Importance of fishing regulations to us and to the fish
How to correctly interpret and follow the fishing regulations
How to correctly identify your catch
Catch and release techniques
Tackle choice and maintenance
New fishing tips and techniques

A ranger measures fish with a park visitor.

KODAK/NPS Photo by Neil Montanus

A ranger checks an angler's catch as part of a routine safety stop in Biscayne National Park

WHO CAN ATTEND?

This FREE course is offered to the general public as a service to the community and a means of preempting violations from taking place. In addition, the course is preferentially offered as a mitigation option to individuals who have received fishing citations. Similar to driving school, individuals who have received fishing citations may, at the discretion of the U.S. Attorney's Office and the ticketing law enforcement agent, take the course in exchange for having their fine reduced or waived.

Mapquest

Directions to the class location at Suniland Park

WHEN AND WHERE

When
Once per month, with odd-numbered month classes offered in English and even-numbered month classes offered in Spanish (except for the March 17th class date):

Wednesday January 18, 2012 - English, Suniland Park

Wednesday March 7, 2012 - English, Suniland Park

Saturday March 17, 2012 - Spanish, Biscayne National Park

Saturday April 14, 2012 - Spanish, Biscayne National Park

Wednesday May 2, 2012 - English, Suniland Park

Saturday June 9, 2012 - Spanish, Biscayne National Park

Wednesday July 11, 2012 - English, Suniland Park

Saturday August 18, 2012 - Spanish, Biscayne National Park

Wednesday September 5, 2012 - English, Suniland Park

Saturday October 20, 2012 - Spanish, Biscayne National Park

Wednesday November 7, 2012 - English, Suniland Park

Saturday December 15, 2012 - Spanish, Biscayne National Park

Time
Wednesday courses run from 6:00PM to 9:30PM

Saturday courses run from 10:00AM to 1:30PM

Where

The course is offered at two different locations (specified by date above):

Suniland Park, Pinecrest
12855 South Dixie Hwy. (US-1)
Miami, Florida 33156

Biscayne National Park
'Discovery Room' on the lower level of the Visitor Center
9700 SW 328th St
Homestead, FL 33033

CONTACT INFORMATION

For more information or to enroll, please contact:

Cristalis Capielo, Fisheries Education Program Coordinator

305-230-1144 ext. 036 or e-mail

(Se habla español)

PLEASE NOTE THAT CLASS REGISTRATION CAN ONLY BE ACCOMPLISED BY PHONE.

REGISTRACTION PARA LA CLASE ES DISPONIBLE SOLO POR TELEFONO.

FISH OF THE SEASON: PERMIT AND POMPANOS

NPS and MYFWC.COM

Permit and Pompanos in South Florida

Permits and Pompanos are members of the Jack family, which also includes commonly targeted species such as Rainbow Runners, Bar Jacks, Amberjacks, and Crevalle Jacks.These species can be encountered in a variety of habitats, including inshore and nearshore sand and grass flats, surf, channels and inlets, and in deeper open water over sandy bottoms surrounding wrecks.Permits and Pompanos feed primarily on invertebrates, such as mollusks. Permits and Pompanos are targeted for their excellent food quality as well as for their excellent game qualities, offering a tough and challenging fight for even a highly skilled angler.

Fish Identification

Permit (Trachinotus falcatus), Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus), and African Pompano (Alectis ciliaris) are somewhat similar in appearance, as they all have silver bodies and a similar football shape.Some tips for distinguishing among these three species are as follows:

· Permit: the dorsal fin begins over the anal fin and the forehead rises to a hump then slopes back.

· Florida Pompano: the dorsal fin begins forward of the anal fin and the forehead slopes back gently

· African Pompano: the dorsal fin begins forward of the anal fin and the front of the head is steep and rounded

Regulations

Effective August 31, 2011, the State of Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has established new regulations for Permit and Pompanos:

Within the new Special Permit Zone (SPZ), which includes the waters of Biscayne National Park and Everglades National Park south of Cape Sable, Permit must be at least 22” fork length and the daily recreational bag limit is 1 per harvester per day, with no more than 2 Permit per vessel.The closed season is May 1-July 31. Only hook-and-line and spearing can be used

Florida Pompano must be at least 11” fork length, and the daily recreational bag limit is 6 per harvester per day.Only hook-and-line, cast net, and beach or haul seine can be used.

African Pompano must be at least 24” fork length, and the daily recreational bag limit is 2 per harvester per day, with no more than 2 African Pompano allowed per vessel. Only hook-and-line and spearing can be used

Note that if you are fishing in Everglades National Park, there is an additional bag limit of 10 fish per person of any one species at a time.In addition, anglers are limited to possession of 20 fish per person total (all species combined) at any time!

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