J. B. Kasper-Outdoors

Reduced bag limits and increased size limits are part of the package designed to restore Atlantic Coast flounder numbers. At its December Commission meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved changes to the management of Florida’s flounder fishery. A stock status update suggested that the flounder fishery statewide has been in a general declining trend in recent years and is likely overfished and undergoing overfishing on the Atlantic coast ...of Florida. Other south Atlantic and Gulf states have also reported declines in flounder populations and have been making their own regulation changes. FWC has been working with stakeholders to gather input on this fishery through workshops, online commenting and more. Changes effective March 1, 2021, include: Extending ALL FWC flounder regulations into federal waters. Increasing the minimum size limit from 12 inches to 14 inches total length (recreational and commercial). Reducing the recreational daily bag limit from 10 to five fish per person. Establishing an Oct. 15 Nov. 30 recreational closed season. For commercial harvesters using allowable gear: Establishing a commercial trip and vessel limit of 150 fish from Dec. 1 Oct. 14, and 50 fish from Oct. 15 Nov. 30. Modifying the incidental bycatch limit for commercial harvesters using non-allowable gear from 50 pounds to 50 fish/trip. Creating a federal waters trawl bycatch limit of 150 flounder/trip from Dec. 1 Oct. 14, and 50 fish/trip from Oct. 15 Nov. 30. Learn more about flounder regulations at MyFWC.com/Marine. For the full Dec. 16-17 agenda, including links to background reports, go to MyFWC.com/About and click on The Commission and Commission Meetings.

Meet the retired sisters who maintain 50 miles of rugged New Jersey Pinelands’ trail It was 35 degrees and frost glittered on the undergrowth as Rosemarie Ro Mason popped the hatch of her Jeep Cherokee parked at a trailhead off a rural road in New Jersey’s pine barrens. She began handing out equipment to a group of 14 volunteers before issuing instructions. Her sister, Diane Mason, stood nearby inspecting a gas-powered weed whacker for the day’s work ahead. Everybody be sa...Continue reading

What Lies Ahead? Jim Shepherd the outdoor wire, 12/17/20 ...Continue reading

Carnivores, like coyotes and foxes, see humans as abundant food source By Marcus Schneck | [email protected] Carnivores living near people can find more than half of their diets in human food sources, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. That disruption in the animals’ normal food patterns could put ecosystems at risk....Continue reading

Preparations for Winter and Whatever by Jim Shepherd, Outdoor Wire, November 18. 2020 As we watched our late summer turn into a suddenly frosty fall, we realized there were still plenty of preparedness things we’d let slide over the summer. Sometimes, it takes uncertainty to make us realize there are gaps in our prep work. If there’s one thing everyone will agree on, it’s that 2020 has had enough uncertainty for everyone....Continue reading