Knifing Flounder at Jetties/Public Swimming Areas

I'm reading these regulations and they make it clear that knifing and spearfishing are different and declare different regulations for each... So I believe this means that it *is* legal to knife flounder at Ft.Pickens, is this correct?

Here are the regulations i'm reading:
FWC Saltwater Fishing Regulations - Spearing

They define "Spearing" which would be knifing and "Spearfishing"

I'm not a lawyer, I don't play one on TV, and I didn't stay at Holiday Inn Express.....

The purpose of the statute is twofold: To prevent swimmers from being speared accidentally and to preserve the rights of recreational fishers, whose lines would be disturbed by scuba divers, and who's intended catch would be spooked by the spearfisher.

Spearfishing with a knife in a prohibited area would violate the spirit of the law. Additionally, It's not much of a stretch to define a knife used to pierce the body of a fish as a spear, lance or gig.

You could always ask the park police or FWC cops their opinion, but the guy you talk to may not be the one who catches you later on down the road.

Here is the story. I have gone to the FWC twice (It is located on the North end of the 3 Mile Bridge) and spoke to FWC officers about spear fishing at Ft. Pickens. The first time I was told that it was OK, but then to confirm it he went and got his "Boss" who told me and the other officers that the rules were very clear and that any fish taken by Divers at Ft. Pickens was clearly a violation and a ticketable offense.
I then had the chance to speak with a Park ranger at Ft. Pickens and they told me that it was Government property and Spearfishing was OK. so I went back to the FWC and they told me the same story, and that FWC could arrest violators at Ft. Pickens.

As I see it, there is a great deal of confusion on the subject but it is clearly and undebatable that Ft. Pickens is a Jetty, and the laws that govern spearfishing at a Jetty make it illegal to spearfish at Ft. Pickens. So, are you willing to take a risk for coming out of the water with a fish that has a hole in it to save the price of a visit to Joe Patties?

You can buy a lot of damn fish for the price of those "Knifed" filet's.

It may not hurt for a few people to stop in and ask the officers at the FWC what they think. Look for the boats in the parking lot at the North end of the 3 Mile bridge in P'Cola.

MRXRAY:

You can buy a lot of damn fish for the price of those "Knifed" filet's.

Click to expand...

It won't taste as good though

I'm a hunter and a gatherer! A man goes and gets his own dinner, he doesn't buy it from a store!

LOL. I hear ya! And I know..... Rules were made to be broken!

You could legally go into the water and gig flounder with a mask on as long as you are no swimming during the harvest or possession of them. Legally, "spearing" it harvest of a fish by piercing it with something other than a fishing hook. "Spearfishing" is spearing while swimming. Gigging is "spearing" but not "spearfishing." Just so I'm clear, using your knife to stab a raccoon in the parking lot is spearing (feet on the ground), knifing a flounder while wearing fins and in the water is going to be spearfishing. Using a pole spear to gig flounder in water shallow enough to stand in even if you have a mask on is spearing as long as you are not swimming (and I would try to make it very obvious that I was not swimming), but I would have a copy of the regs with me when i did this and be ready to explain the difference to any officer who came by ready to write a ticket.

FWC regs are pretty clear on this if you look at the actual regs and not the summary that is more commonly referred to. The trick is to avoid having to go before a judge to make your case. Having the actual regs present really helps out for the officer at the scene when there is a question.

Pat is exactly rite. My next door neighbor got a ticket for this while snorkeling with a gig in the lagoon.