On Feb. 1 the recreational harvest season for spotted seatrout in North Florida will close for one month to help maintain spotted seatrout abundance. The sport harvest season for Atlantic snook will reopen on the same date.

The harvest and possession of spotted seatrout is prohibited Feb. 1 - March 1 in all waters north of the Flagler-Volusia county line to the Florida-Georgia border in the Atlantic and north 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, to the Florida-Alabama border in the Gulf. All other areas in Florida remain open to recreational harvest of spotted seatrout.

The recreational harvest season for snook reopens Feb. 1 in Florida's Atlantic coastal and inland waters, including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River.  Anglers may keep one snook between 28 and 32 inches total length per day from these waters.

Licensed saltwater anglers must purchase a $2 permit to harvest snook. Snatch-hooking and spearing snook are prohibited, and it is illegal to buy or sell snook. Snook regulations also apply in federal waters.

The harvest of snook remains closed in all of Florida's Gulf of Mexico, Everglades National Park and Monroe County coastal and inland waters until March 1.