Effective March 22, right at the start of the Florida panhandle's best cobia run, the limit drops from two per person per day to one, with a boat limit of six. Also, Florida ended the practice of allowing sportfishermen to sell their catch. Cobia is one of the few remaining fish that can sustain the charter industry. We had a great year here last year, and they had an even better one in Louisiana west of the Mississippi River. According to him, the commission made the change after requests from the Florida charter industry.
Franks considers the Gulf cobia population to be in good shape.
I know that the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Council are just beginning a cobia stock assessment project, and there could be some limit changes coming in the future. The limit remains two per person per day in federal waters, and that limit is in effect in all Gulf states except Florida. Franks said federal regulations allow the sell of cobia, but that the limit is two per day for everybody, including the commercial anglers. Franks' almost decade-old cobia tagging program continues in 2001. We've learned a lot about the cobia from those recaptures.