CRAB ISLAND POPULAR SITE

Hundreds of vessels, gathered at Crab Island, the submerged island party spot in Choctawhatchee Bay, over the weekend. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says recreational vessel occupancy is limited to no more than 10 people per vessel and requires a minimum distance of 50 feet between the vessels. Okaloosa County Sheriff’s deputies said they did not have to issue any citations. Food vendors still were not allowed to operate at the island, but the County Commission will decide today whether to allow them to operate again. Since Crab Island is within the Gulf Islands National Seashore, each vendor will have to have a commercial use authorization from the National Park Service, as well as a county permit.