[drichitt]

Keith - I fished quite a bit in the Florida Keys during the winters of 2007 and 2008, when this issue first hit the headlines down there. This Florida Snapper-Grouper closure was suppose to go into effective early in 2009, but with a large commercial catch exemption. The poor economy in Florida evidently caused them to delay it. The fishing groups in Florida have been fairly well organized and tried to fight this, but to no avail. The conservationists in Florida have become very aggressive and have gained positions on key decision making boards. The economic impact is not very high up on their priorities list. The period of closure is the spawning period for these species if I remember it correctly....Don