17-Day Extension of Record Gulf Recreational Red Snapper Season
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Florida is extending the already record 2023 recreational Gulf red snapper season by 17 days, adding every Friday through Saturday in September, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving Day to the previously announced season. The 2023 season now totals...
By Will Estell
If you are a full-time or part-time resident of any of the beach towns and coastal communities that dot Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast you’ve likely heard a thing or two about the Artificial Reef Program initiated and managed by Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourism.
As much as the program...
By Frank Berte
Way back in 1948, the very first Fishing Rodeo was held in Destin! Seventy-five years ago, this bustling international hotbed of the world’s vacationing elite was an entirely different scene. Northwest Florida was still a wild place, full of pine forests, large land animals and a staggering...
The Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center has taken in 89 patients this year and, so far, has released 58 of them. In July, six sea turtles, four Loggerheads, one Kemps Ridley, and one Green were able to return to the Gulf of Mexico.
Several dedicated C.A.R.E Center staff team members and their volunteers, as...
The Coastal Resources team with Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourism has done it again! Over the Memorial Day weekend, they deployed 46 pre-fabricated artificial reef modules about 15 nautical miles south of the Destin East Pass. These reefs join the hundreds of others just south of Destin, including large vessel...
By Kayla Burleson
It’s that summer time of year where the days get longer, fishing heats up and anglers get more time on the water. We’ve spent some time doing all types of fishing, and here’s a report straight from the water.
If you’re fishing from shore, you may have noticed some...
By Nick Tomecek, Okaloosa County PIO
Divers participating in the 5th Annual Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament set a new record with the successful removal of 24,699 lionfish! Last year’s total was 13,835. Divers from throughout the country competed for prize money totaling more than $100,000 in an effort to...
By Cali Hlavac
It’s Cobia Season on the Emerald Coast, a short window of time each year where the cobia migration rolls through our waters and fishermen ride high in their towers trying to spot them. However, things are looking a bit different around here this year, with very minimal cobia being...
Okaloosa County Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourism and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is celebrating the 5th Annual Lionfish Removal & Awareness Festival on May 20-21 at the Destin Harbor. Lionfish are an invasive species that prey on native fish with no known predators due to their venomous...
