Fishing on Garden Key at Dry Tortugas National Park
All boats entering Dry Tortugas National Park for recreation purposes must pay the entrance fee and obtain a boating permit at Garden Key. See the Boating web page for details.
Fishing is allowed in certain areas of Dry Tortugas National Park, though no lobstering is allowed, nor is spearfishing. A Florida Saltwater fishing license is required for those older than 16 and younger than 65. No special fishing license from the National Park Service is needed. See the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Florida Saltwater Fishing Regulations web page for details.
No fishing is allowed within the Research Natural Area (RNA). You will need a map to figure out where this area is, plus the longitude and latitude of the boundaries. Most of the RNA is west of Hospital Key, and at first glance it appears to include Garden Key, where everyone is visiting. However, a 1-mile radius around Garden Key is excluded from the RNA. Large, yellow buoys mark the boundary.
Dry Tortugas map with Research Natural Area shaded (click to enlarge)
Fishing from Garden Key is allowed in certain areas:
- The airplane beach east of the main dock when the airplane is not present
- Main dock when the Yankee Freedom is not present
- Two westernmost finger piers when they are unoccupied
- Either dinghy beach provided that fishing does not occur within 50 feet of the concrete wall of the historic docks and ruins previously used for loading coal
All other areas are closed to fishing.
For more information, see the National Park Service’s official Fishing web page for Dry Tortugas National Park.
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Last updated on August 7, 2024
