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Measuring
Your Catch,
according to the "Fishing Lines the newsletter" from the Division of Marine
Resources.
| Anyone who's been angling for any time
has found that various species of fish are required to be measured differently.
Because of the differences in anatomy of species and the evolution of rulemaking and
fisheries management, much of the language regarding length measurements amounts to the
same distance, but is worded differently. In Florida, there are two basic methods of
measuring all managed saltwater fishes, but the legal definitions of these methods vary
slightly from species to species. All fish must be measure in their natural
condition -- tails can not be pinched! |
| Total Length -- A total length
measurement is basically the distance from the most forward point of the fish's head to
the hindmost point of the tail. Redfish and seatrout are specified in the rules to
be measure in this fashion. But for snook, the legal measurement is the distance
from the most forward point of the lower jaw, which is the most forward point of the fish,
to the tip of the tail. And for reef fish (snapper, grouper, and sea bass), total
length is defined as the distance from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail. |
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| Total Length -- Black drum, bonefish, flounder,
gray triggerfish, grouper, red drum, red porgy, all sea basses, snapper, snook, spotted
seatrout, and weakfish. |
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| Fork Length -- A fork length measurement
is the distance from the tip of the fish's snout to the rear center edge of the tail,
meaning the innermost spot in the concave of the tail fin. Fork length measurements
are generally applied to fish that have sickle shaped tails and provide a reasonable
standard because the tail is sometimes damaged by predators, etc., but the rear center
edge of the tail remains intact. Billfish such as sailfish and marlin are measured
using the fork length measurement of the distance from the forward most tip of the lower
jaw to the rear center edge of the tail. |
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| Fork Length -- Greater and lesser
amberjack, banded rudderfish, bluefish, cobia, dolphin, hogfish and king mackerel. |
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| Other -- Spanish mackerel, permit , pompano
(including African), tripletail and sheepshead - measure from the most forward point of
the head to the rear center edge of the tail. Effectively, this is the same as a
fork measurement for the mackerel, permit, pompano and sheepshead. |
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| Billfish -- Measure from the forward most tip of
the lower jaw to innermost center edge of the tail. |
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| If further clarification is required,
please contact your local district office of the Florida Marine Patrol. The
information referenced in this article can be found in the rules of the Marine Fisheries
Commission, Title 46 of the Florida Administrative Code. You may access marine
regulations through the Marine Fisheries Commission website at www.dep.state.fl.us/mfc. |
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This page last
modified on
12/11/08 11:23.
For questions, concerns, or information on this site please contact webmaster@fishsanibel.com. |
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