It might be unwise to fish for grouper in Atlantic and Florida Keys waters until May 1, unless you’re very good at sorting out the numerous models in the line. In state waters — from shore to 3 miles off — you can catch but not keep any of these 11 grouper styles: Gag, black, red, yellowmouth, yellowfin, scamp, red hind, rock hind, coney, graysby and tiger. In federal waters for the same period of time, you can keep a tiger grouper but none of the others.

The seasonal closure is meant to help those species replen- ish their populations. Atlantic snook-keeping season reopens Feb. 1. That includes Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River, where snook sometimes surprise bass fishermen. Gulf of Mexico snook, including the Keys and Everglades National Park, can be kept beginning March 1. For up-to-date size and bag limits, you can consult FWC saltwater regulations on their website: http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater. The state regulation that requires venting a deep reef fish’s swim bladder before release has been deleted to conform to overlapping rules in federal waters. But FWC’s view is that we still need to do something extra when releasing those deep reef fish. Other than the syringe-like venting tool that you won’t be required to have any more (but you probably should) there is a gadget called a release device for fish that are afraid of needles.

There’s not enough space here for all the details, but if you fish the deep reefs you should know them. For information and instructive photos, go online to this web address: http://myfwc.com/news/news-releases/2014/january/16/gc-january.

Docks to be done

Fix-up contractors are due to begin working later in February on the ruined marina and other docks of Elliott Key, where extra-high tides and waves driven by hurricane Sandy wrecked Biscayne National Park facil- ities in October 2012. Elliott is one of the park’s most popular boating and landing areas, where in normal times it’s hard to find docking space on good-weather weekends. Those facil- ities, the key’s campground and part of the boardwalk at the park’s Convoy Point visitor center have been closed since the storm.

The only thing open there since Sandy is the University Dock, and that’s for daytime use only. In mid-January, both boardwalk jobs were reported nearing completion — the one on Elliott almost done and the other at Convoy Point projected to be finished by the end of February. Convoy, the mainland site where the park’s only visitor center stands, is 9 miles east of Homestead and alongside Homestead Bayfront Park’s marina. Once the boardwalk there is finished, work is ex- pected to begin on the Elliott Key dock facilities, with completion targeted for late spring or early summer. Landside visitors are still encouraged at Convoy Point, but are cautioned to be careful. Still unsafe parts of the boardwalk are blocked off by orange plas- tic fencing. “Please be mindful that safety is our primary concern, be patient, and be careful around the temporary closure areas,” says Robert Beech, Biscayne’s maintenance chief. Further updates to be posted at the park’s website, www.nps.gov/bisc.

You can also follow the progress at www.facebook.com/biscaynenps, or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/biscaynenps.

Biscayne deadline nearing

Reminder: The public commentary window shuts at midnight Feb. 20 for Biscayne National Park’s general man- agement plan, which has engendered hot controversy over a 14,585-acre spe- cial recreation zone for restricted fishing on the park’s offshore reefs. The plan includes plenty of other details that boating, fishing and birding interests ought to review carefully with an eye toward suggesting improvements, criticizing flaws and offering better ideas.

Go to parkplanning.nps.gov/bisc online and see General Management Plan Alternative Six. That’s the one we’ll get eventually, subject to changes suggested by the public and other government agencies. Instructions for submitting your comments are included on the website. You can also write a letter and mail it to: Biscayne National Park General Management Plan, P.O. Box 25287, Denver CO 80225-0287.

Officer of the year

If you’re stranded in the jungle, don’t worry. Florida wildlife officer Lee Lawshe can find you. If you’re a villain on the run and Lawshe’s after you, then you should worry. Those are just two reasons he’s been named officer of the year for 2013 by the FWC. Here’s what the agency says it likes about Lawshe, whose beat is St. John’s County in North Florida: “He has rescued a man missing for days in a swamp, apprehended a suspect during a manhunt, caught people illegally harvesting redfish, trespassing and harming gopher tortoises, and helped recover a body for a murder investigation. And all of that was just in 2013.”

Lawshe also instructed a couple of local police SWAT teams in the art of manhunting, but that’s not all. He reached nearly 3,000 people last year through hunter education classes, elementary school demonstrations, fairs, parades and other events, says his boss, Lt. Ben Allen:. “He uses outreach events to educate children and adults about conservation and to spread the message about what the FWC does.

Lawshe is also called upon frequently by other law enforcement agencies for his skills at working in the woods and his hard-working nature,” Allen said. Lawshe, an Army vet, started with FWC in 2008. As officer of the year, he will be shown off by the FWC at public events all through this year. Upstate woodsmen should take care to know their way out, just in case he isn’t available.

Nesting species

Paurotis Pond, an Everglades National Park water body proactively guarded by mosquitos, sand flies and humongous alligators, is a fine place for bass fishing from a canoe or kayak, but not now. It’s closed to boating and fishing until wood storks and other wading birds nesting there finish their winter business in springtime. Human activity is restricted to the paved parking lot until then.

About 400 pairs of endangered wood storks have been observed nesting at the pond in recent seasons. Bird watchers also will see nesting roseate spoonbills, which usually are the first to arrive. They will be across the water from the parking area. Others are the great egret, white ibis, snowy egret, tricolored heron, little blue heron, black-crowned night heron, great blue heron and anhinga. Wood storks, easily identified by their long beaks and black-tipped wings, staged an impressive comeback last year. They are seen often in the Everglades beyond park boundaries, and it’s not unusual to find them along house-lined wetlands in Broward’s western suburbs. There’s no fixed schedule for reopening the pond. Everglades natural- ists say most birds are done in May but some stay until June. Paurotis Pond is on the west (right) side of the national park’s main highway, about 24 miles from the park entrance and 15 miles north of Flamingo.