'hold my beer and watch this!'

[hatidua]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=741154239256283

(the lack of an HMS permit is likely going to make things more than a little interesting but it's still a unique occurrence)

[BushMasterBoy]

Islamorada is a small drinking village...with a fishing problem! (local bumper sticker) I miss that place...

[newracer]

It is also an illegal method of take.

[BushMasterBoy]

It is legal, as tuna not regulated in Florida.

See... http://ocean.floridamarine.org/boati...gulations.html

[spqrzilla]

There is a tuna sandwich ready for assembly.

[hatidua]

It is legal, as tuna not regulated in Florida.

See... http://ocean.floridamarine.org/boati...gulations.html

-not even remotely legal - HMS (highly migratory species) are federally regulated, not state. (https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/faqs.asp#faq40)

I have no qualms about what transpired in that video but I'm not sure of the wisdom in making that afternoons activities public... I'm not sure the fish in question is 100% healthy either: a YFT swimming around in 6' of muddy dock water is about as common as wild polar bears in Arizona.

[BushMasterBoy]

I knew some misinformed soul would bring this up. The fed regs apply to fishing vessels only. As to Florida, fishing from the shore of a saltwater body does not require a fishing license. If you are fishing from a vessel (boat) does require a license. If you sell any saltwater products, you need a saltwater products license. You got a boat and fishing you need a license! Fishing from the dock, NO license required. If you are fishing from a public freshwater lake, you need a license.
This happened in the Florida Keys, huge tidal currents here. By huge, I mean extremely fast. All sorts of fish get caught in these currents and end up in the bays, inlets etc.
I worked for an aquarium that specialized in supply tropical fish world wide. We dove all along the southeast coast of Florida. We supplied universities with certain species used in medical research. For instance, if you damage a nurse sharks kidneys, it will regenerate the kidney. Sort of a planaria effect. Or a human liver, you can remove a large portion and it will regrow.
So if you go to the beach in Florida to fish, you don't need a license. If you go on a commercial fishing tour boat to fish you don't need a license because the boat is licensed as a commercial fishing vessel. If you take a private boat fishing in Florida saltwater (ocean), you need a license and there are catch limits. The enforcement arm is called "Florida Marine Patrol".

If you think I am full of BS you can call these guys and I quote:

Q: If I witness a violation of NMFS regulations, how do I report it?
A: Please call the 24-hour NMFS Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964. You may also call the U.S. Coast Guard Hotline at (800) SAVE-FISH. You do not need to give your name when you call.

PS. There is an exception to the Florida fishing license. Active duty military just present .mil ID

Correction! I just checked the regs for Florida fishing license, damn near everybody needs a fishing license if you are aged 16-65. If you are exempt for disabilty, food stamps etc. you can get a free license, but you still need a license.

[ThunderSquirrel]

Tuna are unregulated in the state of Florida, along with a crap ton of other fish.

http://www.myfwc.com/fishing/saltwat...lated-species/

[sniper7]

Fish was probably on its way out anyways, good for those guys for scoring some awesome meals!

[hatidua]

I knew some misinformed soul would bring this up. The fed regs apply to fishing vessels only.

That's not quite how it goes, read the whole page, including the part about state waters: http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/r...atory-species/

Then, if you research the federal rules, catching them, EVEN WITH AN HMS PERMIT is only allowed FROM a permitted vessel. Any incidental catch, even from shore, must be immediately released (somewhat difficult with three gaff's in it).

This happened a while back when someone pulled the same stunt with a BFT from shore and the fine made for about the most expensive tuna in history.

-but go on down and hook a few from the beach, apparently its just fine...