The recreational harvest seasons for vermilion snapper in the Atlantic Ocean and spotted seatrout in South Florida will close on Nov. 1.  These closures are intended to reduce overfishing and increase the population of vermilion snapper in the Atlantic and help maintain the abundance of spotted seatrout in Florida waters.

The recreational harvest and possession of vermilion snapper is prohibited beginning Nov. 1 in all Atlantic waters off Florida.  Recreational harvest of Atlantic vermilion snapper will reopen on April 1, 2010.

For spotted seatrout, all harvest and possession is prohibited from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 in all waters south of the Flagler-Volusia county line in the Atlantic and south of a line running due west from the westernmost point of Fred Howard Park Causeway, which is 1.17 miles south of the Pinellas-Pasco county line in the Gulf of Mexico.

The recreational harvest of spotted seatrout will remain open until February in northeast and northwest Florida waters.

More information regarding Florida recreational saltwater fishing regulations are available at www.MyFWC.com/Rules.