Florida Administrative Code › 68 - FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION › 68B - Marine Fisheries › Chapter 68B-24 - SPINY LOBSTER (CRAWFISH) AND SLIPPER LOBSTER › Section 68B-24.0065 - Special Provisions for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Monroe County: Closure During Two-day Sport Season; Closure of Coral Formation Protection Zones

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) During the two-day
				sport season established in subsection
				68B-24.005(2),
				F.A.C., there shall be no harvest of spiny lobster in John Pennekamp Coral Reef
				State Park. Except for persons transiting park waters in a vessel, no person
				shall possess any spiny lobster in or on the waters of the park during this
				period. Possession of spiny lobster during this period aboard any vessel from
				which a person is diving, within the boundaries of the park, is
				prohibited.
(2) The Fish and
				Wildlife Conservation Commission finds that lobster harvest in the coral
				formation areas of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is inconsistent with
				maintenance of the valuable marine resources contained in and supported by such
				formations and with the purposes of the park.
(a) During the regular spiny lobster season
				established in subsection
				68B-24.005(1),
				F.A.C., no person shall harvest or attempt to harvest any species of the Genera
Panulirus
or
Scyllarides
, or deploy any trap,
				in the following described areas of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, each
				of which is a polygon bounded by the lines connecting the coordinates as
				expressed by latitude and longitude:
North
West
Name of Area
Plot Corner
Latitude
Longitude
1.
Turtle Rocks
North
25° 18.6'
80° 13.35'
East
25° 18.05'
80° 12.8'
South
25° 16.49'
80° 13.95'
West
25° 16.95'
80° 14.55'
2.
Basin Hill N.
North
25° 14.6'
80° 16.0'
East
25° 14.42'
80° 15.72'
South
25° 14.00'
80° 16.00'
West
25° 14.25'
80° 16.3'
3.
Basin Hill E.
North
25° 14.34'
80° 15.58'
East
25° 14.1'
80° 15.35'
South
25° 13.62'
80° 15.58'
West
25° 13.82'
80° 16.08'
4.
Basin Hill S.
North
25° 13.95'
80° 16.6'
East
25° 13.42'
80° 16.1'
South
25° 12.4'
80° 17.08'
West
25° 12.75'
80° 17.65'
5.
Higdon's Reef
North
25° 08.6'
80° 18.74'
East
25° 08.4'
80° 18.55'
South
25° 07.8'
80° 19.2'
West
25° 08.0'
80° 19.36'
6.
Cannon Patch
North
25° 06.95'
80° 20.5'
East
25° 06.6'
80° 20.15'
South
25° 05.95'
80° 20.7'
West
25° 06.05'
80° 21.75'
7.
Mosquito Bank N.
North
25° 04.85'
80° 23.00'
East
25° 04.7'
80° 22.2'
South
25° 03.6'
80° 23.05'
West
25° 04.21'
80° 23.40'
8.
Mosquito Bank S.E.
North
25° 04.15'
80° 22.3'
East
25° 04.15'
80° 22.1'
South
25° 03.3'
80° 22.9'
West
25° 03.3'
80° 23.1'
9.
Three Sisters N.
North
25° 02.75'
80° 23.75'
East
25° 02.55'
80° 23.3'
South
25° 01.09'
80° 24.05'
10.
Three Sisters S.
North
25° 01.75'
80° 23.78'
South
25° 01.42'
80° 24.1'
West
25° 01.67'
80° 24.4'
(b)
				Within the areas described in paragraph (a), no person shall possess while in
				or on the water or aboard any vessel, any species of the Genera
Panulirus
or
Scyllarides.
(c) Within John Pennekamp Coral Reef State
				Park, no person shall harvest any species of the Genera
Panulirus
or
Scyllarides
, or deploy any trap,
				from or within any patch reef. The term "patch reef" means any coral formation,
				consisting of a roughly circular area of hard corals, soft corals, and a
				mixture of other benthic invertebrates.
(d) The term "trap" for purposes of this
				subsection means any trap used to harvest or attempt to harvest spiny lobster
				as allowed by Rule 68B-24.006, F.A.C., stone crabs
				as allowed by subsection 68B-13.002(2), F.A.C., or blue crab trap as allowed by
				subsection 68B-45.004(1),
				F.A.C.