July 1, 2025 — A measure prohibiting vessel searches that stem from safety inspections on the water is among a slew of laws to be enacted in Florida this week.
It halts a long-running practice in which state and local marine law enforcement could stop boaters and board their vessels without probable cause.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says long-standing vessel searches have “unnecessarily created friction” between boaters and law enforcement.
April 29, 2025 — Florida is ready to allow its longest-ever Gulf red snapper recreational season for 2025. Anglers will be allowed to harvest the gamefish for a total of 126 days total, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.
Gulf red snapper management was previously handled by the federal government, but they shifted management to Gulf states over the years.
“When I became governor, a lot of anglers would tell me the way the federal government was managing the red snapper was not an accurate representation of what was actually there,” DeSantis said.
April 7, 2025 — Florida’s Governor says the federal government may come through in expanding the red snapper season in the Atlantic.
“I think the administration is supportive of it,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
“I have mentioned it to the President, but I definitely mentioned it also to the Secretary of the Commerce. And I know they’re still filling out NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and they’re doing, still, all that. And there’s a lot of irons in the fire, but returning this to state management would be a home run.”
Recreational anglers got just one day in 2024, though commercial operations had from July until the end of the year.
May 5, 2022 — Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke at Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill in Clearwater Wednesday afternoon to announce what was called record-level funding for red tide mitigation in Florida.
Signage at the event was for “Protecting Florida Together,” his office’s environmental initiatives slogan. The governor was joined by Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton, and a variety of lawmakers and state leaders.
The governor started the event by thanking Frenchy’s for hosting him, saying the last time he was there was to watch the Super Bowl when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played. He introduced a variety of officials with him as “a great cast of characters,” then jumped into the speech.
“We’re here today to announce some new funding that I’ve approved in next year’s budget, now I’ve not signed the whole budget yet because we’re still going through those, I’ve got line item veto authority,” DeSantis said. “We’ve gotta make sure we get it right. But we have done more than any governor to help put resources to bear for research and mitigation efforts against red tide. If you look at the four years before I became governor, those four years, there was a total of $2.5 million dollars that was allocated to address the research and mitigation of red tide. Once I make this announcement today, for my four years, we went from $2.5 million to $40 million.”
DeSantis said he and state leaders were excited about the funding efforts.
September 21, 2020 — Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a measure into law banning the import and export of shark fins in Florida.
Sen. Travis Hutson sponsored the bill (SB 680), but the measure is named after the late Kristin Jacobs. She sponsored the House version of the bill (HB 401). Jacobs passed away in April — almost exactly one month after the Legislature approved the legislation — after a yearslong battle with cancer.
“This bill’s really important to the state,” Jacobs said as the Legislature approved a final version of the bill.
Jacobs prioritized banning the shark fin trade. Toward the end of the legislative process, Rep. Toby Overdorf offered an amendment renaming the bill the “Kristin Jacobs Ocean Conservation Act.” That amendment was approved.
“It was an incredible honor and privilege to help Rep. Jacobs across the finish line with this bill,” Overdof said. “The aptly named Ocean Conservancy Act allows her advocacy for the environment and for bipartisan relationships to continue long after her passing.”
July 7, 2020 — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made water quality improvements through environmental regulation a priority of his administration.
In his 18 months in office, DeSantis has launched a four-year, $2.5 billion plan to address water quality issues in the Everglades, receiving more than $640 million in this year’s budget.
DeSantis also has prevailed upon lawmakers to adopt several key policy directives, such as the newly minted Clean Waterways Act, which includes initiatives to reduce nutrient-laden runoff into state waters and increases environmental fines by 50 percent.
As a part of that effort, DeSantis resigned House Bill 1061, which designates about 800 square miles of Gulf of Mexico coastal waters off Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties, including 400,000 acres of seagrass, as the Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve.
Sponsored by Rep. Ralph Massullo, R-Lecanto, HB 1061 was approved by the House, 117-1, and the Senate, 39-0, where that chamber’s version was spearheaded by Sen. Ben Albritton, R-Bartow.
The Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve is the first preserve created by Florida lawmakers in 32 years and the 42nd established since the Florida Aquatic Preserve Act of 1975 allowed state-owned submerged lands with “exceptional biological, aesthetic and scientific value” to be classified as aquatic preserves or sanctuaries.
March 13, 2020 — Selling and possessing shark fins could soon be outlawed in Florida, joining about a dozen other states in attempting to protect sharks and remove the delicacy from restaurant menus.
The Florida Senate unanimously approved a measure already ratified by the state House, sending the legislation to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature.
The practice of shark finning has long been outlawed under federal law, but most states currently have no prohibitions against possessing and selling shark fins. A decade ago, Hawaii became the first state to ban the possession and sale of shark fins. Since then, about a dozen other states have enacted similar laws.
February 26, 2020 — Just a couple of days after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the recreational season for 2020 red snapper, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council sent out a little good news themselves.
The management council is predicting that the 2020 season for red snapper for the for-hire federally permitted boats, which is the majority of Destin’s fishing fleet, will be extended seven to eight days longer this year.
Last year, the for-hire charter boats had a 61 day season, starting on June 1. The projected increase in days this year is due to the reduction in buffer, from 20 percent to 9 percent. Because the federal for-hire component didn’t exceed its annual catch target, the council determined that the buffer between the annual catch limit and the annual catch target could be reduced from 20 to 9 percent.
So with the possible increase, charter boats are looking at a 67 to 68 day season, that would take them through the first week of August.