At its August meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) issued an executive order to modify the 2026 recreational season for gag grouper in state waters of the Gulf of America, excluding all state waters off Monroe County, to Sept. 1 through Sept. 30. The 2026 recreational season will close at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1.
This season is consistent with NOAA's recently announced season in adjacent federal waters. Maintaining consistent state and federal recreational seasons for Gulf gag grouper will help prevent exceeding the recreational quota and reduce the likelihood of a quota payback in 2027.