FWC approves barracuda conservation measures for South Florida
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at its Sept. 3 meeting in Fort Lauderdale approved new recreational and commercial bag limits for barracuda for waters off south Florida.
The changes will apply in state and federal waters off Collier, Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Martin counties only, and will include a:
•Recreational and commercial daily bag limit of two fish per person and
•Recreational and commercial daily vessel limit of six fish per vessel.
These new limits will be effective Nov. 1, 2015.
Stakeholders in southeast Florida and the Florida Keys have voiced concerns about declining barracuda numbers observed when fishing and diving. FWC staff gathered public input from concerned stakeholders at workshops conducted earlier this year. The FWC is responding to these concerns by creating bag limits to prevent further declines and conserve barracuda in the region.
The original proposal also included barracuda size limits, however the FWC wants to gather more input from stakeholders before creating additional limits. FWC staff will conduct another series of workshops in south Florida to gather more public input before considering any additional management measures.
Knew it was a matter of time 
I have seen a decline in cuda populations in the last several years both at the markers around Miami and in the Keys-so it was a good move to protect the Barracuda. I have seen Spear fishermen come in to the marinas with 15 to 20 cudas all 10 to 35 lbs--NOT GOOD!!
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger