Minimum 10-inch Size Limit in Effect for Black Crappie in Lake Griffin
As of July 1, there is a 10-inch minimum size limit for taking black crappie in Lake Griffin Fish Management Area in Lake County. The daily bag limit is still 25.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved the rule at its meeting in February following a public-hearing process.
During the peak of black crappie fishing activity – from November through April – FWC creel clerks will be on Lake Griffin surveying anglers. FWC staff will be evaluating the effects of this rule change which, based on models, could provide increased total numbers and average sizes of harvested crappie, and reduce overfishing of the younger fish populations.
“The Lake Griffin black crappie population has the potential to support a greater harvest of the larger fish,” said Dennis Renfro, fisheries resource coordinator for the FWC. “The 10-inch minimum size with a 25-fish daily bag limit regulation should allow anglers to take more large fish without harming the abundance or size/age structure in the lake.”
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came into existence on July 1, 1999 - the result of a constitutional amendment approved in the 1998 General Election as part of the package proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission.
In the implementation of the Constitutional Amendment, the Florida Legislature combined all of the staff and Commissioners of the former Marine Fisheries Commission, elements of the Divisions of Marine Resources and Law Enforcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and all of the employees and Commissioners of the former Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
Five years later, after consulting stakeholders, employees and other interested parties, the FWC adopted a new internal structure to address complex conservation issues of the new century. The new structure focuses on programs, such as habitat management, that affect numerous species. It will focus on moving the decision-making process closer to the public and did not require any additional funding or additional positions.
