Size
Florida regulations call for minimum lengths on many saltwater species, making it unlawful to possess these fish if they are not at least a certain length. For example, the minimum length for the red grouper is 20 inches, while that of the bonefish is 18 inches.
Geography
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website notes that for some species, which waters off Florida in which you catch them makes a difference in regards to their minimum lengths. For example, the minimum length for a black sea bass caught in the Gulf of Mexico is 10 inches. For those that you catch in the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of Florida is 12 inches.
Considerations
For specific species of fish, you must keep the specimen intact, with it still having its head, tail and fins, until you come ashore with it. This allows authorities to make accurate measurements of the fish, including snapper, wahoo and weakfish, if they need to.
