Knife allowed / needed?

Are dive knives allowed in Pennekamp State park?

Is hook and line fishing allowed in the park?

(As you see, the two questions are closely related.)

Thanks

I KNOW. It looks like three questions: I am not counting the subject line.

I have been to Pennekamp and I dove with a knife. The dive operator did not say a thing about it. Divers can get entangled in nets and/or fishing line. I regard a knife as safety equipment. Also a knife would be useful in removing any line or netting one happens across.

I wear a knife, and a Trilobite (line cutter) in Largo, including in Pennekamp, and I've never had anyone tell me it wasn't allowed.

I was in Key Largo Memorial Day weekend and the boat was heavily armed. I have a small knife and shears, but others on the boat were strapping on large knifes (compensating?). Not a problem. Do you "need" one? I always have at least one line cutting device on me at all times. I've never been caught, but had a friend snagged in front of me on the Duane.

Fishing is not allowed in the park but you may very well see fishing line. I always carry a cutting device (knife, z knife, or tribolite) for safety purposes.

Thanks all, my wife and I will each be fully armed with our 3" blunt tips then.
I sure hope they are large enough to impress the other divers on the boat. (Attempt at humor.)

I do feel naked without it, though I have only used it a few times over the years for fishing line.

I felt strange having to take it off my BC a few times in HI as it was "against the rules".

Having grown up in Miami and done a lot of diving between Miami and Key Largo, a lot of it from Carysfort Reef south, I know a knife isn't a problem. The real issue is spear gear. I've been inspected multiple times by park police and DHS, and the only issue was spear guns/ pole spears. I've had coolers checked for fish, and once had a close shave with a hogfish in a cooler that was shot outside the park but we dropped in for a fun dive...bad move, but no more than a warning came of it. Basically, the park officer had seen us spearing and followed us when we came in and then pounced us...Actually, we thought we were outside the park by about a hundred meters, but our chart was outdated. I was stopped another time with spear gear on board, but no fish...so no problem.

Where you might have problems is with a stiletto-esque knife for braining fish. There might be some questions about whether you've got a bag of fish stashed somewhere or are poaching lobster traps/ running a ghost trap. Even then, though, I doubt it.

If you're diving off a dive charter and not a private vessel, then you're not going to able to poach anything, even if you wanted to, so you should be fine.