These datasets are open source under Florida's Sunshine Law and available without restriction. All data must be verified by Principal Investigator or Group Database Analyst prior to release. It is strongly recommended that this data is directly acquired from FWC and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. FWC makes no claims as to the data's suitability for other purposes.

Acknowledgement of the FWC-FWRI (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute) and Florida Sea Grant as the data sources would be appreciated in any products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard for citation and legal practices for data source is expected by users of this data. Please cite the original metadata when using portions of the record to create a similar record of slightly altered data, such as reprojection. If any data are modified or adjusted, please share the edited information with FWC. Users should be aware that comparison with other data sets for the same area from other time periods may be inaccurate due to inconsistencies resulting from changes in mapping conventions, data collection, and computer processes over time. FWC shall not be liable for improper or incorrect use of this data. These data are not legal documents and are not to be used as such. This is not a survey data set and should not be utilized as such. These data are not to be used for navigation.