Can You Keep a Marlin in Florida? Size Limits, Permits, and Reporting

You can keep a marlin in Florida, but the fish has to clear a strict minimum length, you need both a state saltwater fishing license and a federal Highly Migratory Species permit on the boat, you’re limited to one billfish per day across all species, and you have to report the catch to NOAA within 24 hours. Most anglers release their marlin, and the rules are written to steer you that way.

Minimum Size to Keep a Marlin

Every billfish you keep is measured as lower jaw fork length: a straight line from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of the tail, not a curve along the body.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Fish Measurement A fish that looks big enough alongside the boat can come up short on the dock, so measure carefully before you commit to keeping it.

Any billfish you harvest has to be landed whole. Don’t fillet or gut it at sea, because enforcement needs to verify the size at the dock.

One Billfish Per Day

Florida sets an aggregate bag limit of one billfish per person per day.4Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code R 68B-33.004 – Recreational Aggregate Bag Limit Aggregate means all billfish species count together. Boat a sailfish in the morning and you can’t keep a marlin later that day. You also can’t possess more than one billfish at a time anywhere in the state.

There’s a separate national ceiling on top of that. Recreational landings of blue marlin, white marlin, and roundscale spearfish combined are capped at 250 fish per year.5Federal Register. Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Billfish Fisheries When NOAA projects the cap will be reached, it shifts those species to mandatory catch-and-release, with the closure taking effect at least 14 days after the announcement. In a busy year, that can happen before the summer is over.

Commercial harvest of billfish in Florida waters is prohibited outright.4Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code R 68B-33.004 – Recreational Aggregate Bag Limit

Permits You Need Before You Fish

Two credentials are non-negotiable.

The first is a Florida recreational saltwater fishing license, which costs $17 per year for residents and $47 per year for nonresidents. Shorter-term options exist for visitors, and some exemptions apply, including for anglers under 16 and Florida residents 65 and older.6Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Recreational Saltwater Licenses and Permits

The second is the federal Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Angling Permit. It’s $24 per year, issued to the vessel rather than the individual, and a hard copy has to be aboard whenever you’re targeting or retaining billfish.7NOAA Fisheries. Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Angling Permit For sailfish, federal rules require every person who possesses or takes one in the Atlantic Exclusive Economic Zone to hold or be aboard a vessel with a valid HMS permit.8eCFR. 50 CFR Part 635 Subpart C – Management Measures Charter and headboat operations use a different HMS permit variant, so if you’re booking a trip, confirm the captain has it before you leave the dock.

Reporting the Catch Within 24 Hours

Every harvested billfish has to be reported to NOAA Fisheries within 24 hours of returning from the trip. This isn’t optional and it applies to all permit holders.9NOAA Fisheries. Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Reporting You have three ways to file:

The app is the easiest option if you have cell service offshore, because you can log the fish before you’re back at the ramp. Missing the reporting deadline carries its own penalty, separate from any size or bag violation.

If You’re Releasing the Fish

Sailfish get a special rule. If you’re releasing one, you may not remove it from the water. That prohibition applies in federal waters and also in state waters if the vessel carries a federal HMS permit.11Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Billfish, Tuna, and Swordfish Since the HMS permit is required to fish for billfish in the first place, the no-removal rule effectively covers all sailfish angling in Florida. No hoisting it up for a photo, no quick lift over the gunwale. If the fish is going back, it stays in the water alongside the boat.

For any billfish you release, the standing obligation is to handle it in a way that gives it the best shot at survival. Dehookers, short fights, and boatside handling are the usual practices.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

NOAA enforces HMS rules through civil penalties, and the schedule escalates for repeat offenses. Keeping a billfish over the bag limit starts at $250 per extra fish for a first offense and $500 per fish for a second, with the overage fish seized.12NOAA. National Summary Settlement Schedule Using unauthorized gear on billfish starts at the same $250 per fish. Failing to report a landing is $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second.

Those are the standard settlement amounts. For willful or egregious violations, NOAA has authority under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to assess civil penalties up to $189,427 per violation, and vessel seizure is possible in serious cases.13NOAA. Policy for the Assessment of Civil Administrative Penalties and Permit Sanctions Measuring your fish carefully before you head for the cleaning station is a cheap insurance policy.