Short grouper fillets, poached or imported?

The FWC created a new law to stop the importation of short grouper that did not meet the Florida size requirements. Unfortunately they left the door open to importation of short fillets. 

More and more I get calls from people seeing short grouper fillets at the seafood markets, the flea markets, and the grocery stores. I have spoken to several Fish and Wildlife officers and they have been following up on many of these reports. The problem we have is that it is legal to import grouper fillets from outside the US no matter what size the fillet is. When an officer sees short grouper fillets in a retail store, he asks where they bought it and is always told that they were purchased legally from a wholesaler and they of course bought them from overseas. We all know that this leaves the door wide open for poaching short fish here in the US and this loophole needs to be closed. The only way that can happen is if we write our Fish and Wildlife Commissioners and insist that any fish that is restricted by size limits or closed seasons in Florida should not be allowed to be sold in Florida unless they meet the same requirements as the local fish, no matter where they are imported from. Members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are appointed by the Governor, confirmed by the Senate and serve five-year terms. Correspondence to the Commissioners may be sent in care of:  

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee , FL 32399-1600


Go here for the names of each commissioner:

http://myfwc.com/About/commissioners.htm

You can also call:
Executive Director
Ken Haddad
(850) 487-3796

 

Please write or call them NOW! We need all the help we can get on this issue.

Capt. Charlie

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