At its May meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) proposed Phase II changes to improve the Marine Special Activity License program. 

Some of the proposed changes include: 

• Updating and making clarifications to streamline the licensing process.
• Updating eligibility requirements.
• Establishing general license conditions and restrictions for all SAL types.
• Clarifying the definition of prohibited species.
• Providing additional transparency to applicants on the genetic risk assessment for release activities. 

This is the start of the second phase of changes for updating the rules governing the Marine SAL program. The Commission approved Phase I changes at the December 2024 meeting. Staff will continue to gather public feedback on Phase II changes and will return to the Commission in November for a final public hearing with any additional changes. 

We encourage all interested parties who would like to provide feedback on proposed changes to the Marine SAL program rules to submit comments through MyFWC.com/SaltwaterComments or email them to Marine@MyFWC.com. 

For the full Commission Meeting May 21-22 agenda, including links to background reports, go to MyFWC.com/About and click on “The Commission” and “Commission Meetings.”