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barney · 20th January 2008, 00:42

For Florida, there are three jurisdictions at play -- the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, and the State of Florida.
I posted the SAFMC regs applicable to Florida, as well as the State of Florida regs, and mentioned there are no rebreather issues in the Gulf of Mexico EEZ off Florida (which is 9nm and greater, not 3nm).
As long as you are in continuous transit from federal waters, states cannot enforce their fishery regulations based on fish harvested in the EEZ. Keep in mind, state enforcement agents CAN have jurisdiction offshore if given the authority by the feds, as is the case in the Gulf of Mexico for Florida Marine Patrol officers (but only to enforce federal regs in federal waters).
Fishing regulations can be very confusing, and in some situations LEOs might get confused.

Quote: (Originally Posted by Dave Sutton)

The EEZ (Economic Exclusion Zone) is FEDERAL water, outside of state water (the zone further than 3 miles offshore, but less than 200 NM). State rules prevail inside of the 3 NM boundry. Don't confuse the two. States have no jurisdiction offshore. Transiting in to the dock with your catch taken in federal waters can pose some issues.

Here's an example that I deal with every time I run a freediving trip here: Fish (Striped Bass) shot in NY waters around Montauk Point (legally) cannot be transited thru the EEC (sport fishing for Striped Bass is illegal in the EEZ, as is posession) on the way back to RI (where they can legally be posessed also). We NEED to run thru the EEZ to get from Montauk to RI, so it's an issue. Now if we run towards Connecticut we can avoid transit thru the EEZ, *but* we then transit thru Connecticut waters where you may posess Striped Bass but NOT those taken by spearfishing (spearing bass there is not legal according to CT state regs)..... so we're still screwed.

<got all that?>

Talk to the locals: They will have the local word. Based on what I read above in the Florida regs, it's not an issue to do what you want to do.

Dave

.

20th January 2008, 00:42	#10 (permalink)
barney Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 270	Re: CCR and Spearfishing For Florida, there are three jurisdictions at play -- the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, and the State of Florida. I posted the SAFMC regs applicable to Florida, as well as the State of Florida regs, and mentioned there are no rebreather issues in the Gulf of Mexico EEZ off Florida (which is 9nm and greater, not 3nm). As long as you are in continuous transit from federal waters, states cannot enforce their fishery regulations based on fish harvested in the EEZ. Keep in mind, state enforcement agents CAN have jurisdiction offshore if given the authority by the feds, as is the case in the Gulf of Mexico for Florida Marine Patrol officers (but only to enforce federal regs in federal waters). Fishing regulations can be very confusing, and in some situations LEOs might get confused. Quote: (Originally Posted by Dave Sutton) The EEZ (Economic Exclusion Zone) is FEDERAL water, outside of state water (the zone further than 3 miles offshore, but less than 200 NM). State rules prevail inside of the 3 NM boundry. Don't confuse the two. States have no jurisdiction offshore. Transiting in to the dock with your catch taken in federal waters can pose some issues. Here's an example that I deal with every time I run a freediving trip here: Fish (Striped Bass) shot in NY waters around Montauk Point (legally) cannot be transited thru the EEC (sport fishing for Striped Bass is illegal in the EEZ, as is posession) on the way back to RI (where they can legally be posessed also). We NEED to run thru the EEZ to get from Montauk to RI, so it's an issue. Now if we run towards Connecticut we can avoid transit thru the EEZ, but we then transit thru Connecticut waters where you may posess Striped Bass but NOT those taken by spearfishing (spearing bass there is not legal according to CT state regs)..... so we're still screwed. <got all that?> Talk to the locals: They will have the local word. Based on what I read above in the Florida regs, it's not an issue to do what you want to do. Dave . __________________ Michael C. Barnette ASSOCIATION OF UNDERWATER EXPLORERS
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