Grab your tickle stick: Florida lobster mini season begins Wednesday - CBS Miami

MIAMI – Grab your tickle stick. Florida's two-day lobster mini season officially gets underway Wednesday.

The recreational two-day season starts on July 27 at 12:01 a.m. and ends at midnight the following day. The regular season begins August 6 every year and runs through March 31.

florida-lobster-625x352-dl-2
Florida Spiny Lobster (Source: CBS4)

While Florida has three varieties of lobster, state wildlife officials say that most fishermen prefer the Florida spiny lobster, also known as the Caribbean spiny lobster.

The spiny lobster inhabits tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida Lobster
Florida lobster (Courtesy: Florida Keys News Bureau)

Normally, the best time to catch a Florida spiny lobster is at night since lobsters stay in their dens during daylight hours to avoid predators and only come out after dark to look for food.

According to state law, during the two-day sport lobster season, divers and snorkelers can take up to six lobsters per person day in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park, 12 per person per day for the rest of Florida.

Learn more about bag limits, size limits, where to harvest, and other regulations at MyFWC.com. If you plan to lobster in the Keys, another great resource is the Monroe County Tourist Development Council website KeysLobsterSeason.com.

Don't forget to get your license and spiny lobster permit at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com.

Florida Lobster
Florida lobster (Courtesy: Florida Keys News Bureau) (Courtesy: Florida Keys News Bureau)

There are a number of regulations for lobster harvesting.

One is if the carapace or shell of the lobster is not 3 inches or more you can't take them. And keep your eyes open for diver's flags.

"This is the most important symbol everybody's going to see when they're out for mini season. This means there are divers in the water actively harvesting," said Florida Fish and Wildlife spokesman Tyson Matthews.

When lobstering in open water, divers should stay within 300 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag or device and within 100 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag or device if near an inlet or navigation channel  

Don't forget to use care around corals and other marine life. The FWC launched the Florida Coral Crew to engage sportsmen and women in the effort to combat Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. 

Other Regulations:

  • Divers must possess a measuring device, and lobsters must be in the water while they are measured.
  • Taking egg-bearing females is prohibited.
  • The spiny lobsters must remain in whole condition until they are brought to shore.  Any device that might puncture, penetrate or crush the shell of the lobster may not be used.
  • Night diving is not allowed in Monroe County. Additionally, there is no lobster hunting in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, no-take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and in the Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary during both the 2-day sport season and regular season.
  • You must have a recreational saltwater fishing license and a spiny lobster permit.
  • Safety equipment such as flares, life jackets, and fire extinguishers are required to be on board the vessel.
  • Dive flags must measure at least 20 x 24 inches and be mounted on the highest point of a boat or at least 12 x 12 inches if the flag is in the water.

Click Here for more lobster mini season rules and regulations from the FWC.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post Posted: 05 Jun 2016 12:00 AM PDT With exacting precision, the surgeon inserted the scalpel above the eyeball and cut out a snotty deposit of fatty tissue. The routine eye-lift was nearly complete when suddenly the patient awoke, suffocating, and began to flop about on the table. The audience gasped. Knowing time was of the essence, the surgeon scooped up the patient in his arms, raced across the stage, and dropped her into a tank of water. She revived. Because she was a fish. Yes, fish eye-lifts exist. As do fin jobs and tail tucks. The operating theater was a mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, where a pet expo was under way. As for the patient, she survived, her formerly droopy eyes now bright and perky. A good thing, too, as this was no ordinary goldfish but rather an Asian arowana, the world's most expensive aquarium denizen, rumored to sell for as mu
Read more

Catching Dory: selling aquarium fish supports coastal livelihoods in Indonesia | npj Ocean Sustainability - Nature.com

Image
Abstract The global marine aquarium trade has created new local markets across the planet, including in Indonesia, now the second-largest exporting country of marine aquarium fish in the world. Participating in the global aquarium trade has been touted as a potentially sustainable addition to fisher livelihoods, but scant data exist showing the numbers of fish coming off the reef and how those fish contribute to income. To determine how participants in the trade incorporate aquarium species in their livelihoods, we examine source-level aquarium fish collecting and trading data in the Banggai Archipelago, a region in Central Sulawesi that has become a significant source for popular aquarium, also known as ornamental, fish species. Using a sustainable livelihoods lens, we examine this data to understand how participants in the aquarium trade both contribute to as well as benefit from the trade and consider how their participation relates to emerging Blue Justice principles. From one year
Read more

NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire

Image
NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire Posted: 11 Mar 2021 02:00 AM PST ALBANY, Ore. , March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NilocG launches a new website for planted tank enthusiasts to gather and make THRIVE, a plant fertilizer that assures planted tank aquascapes flourish while eliminating the need for multiple products more readily available online. The company also takes it a step further in the industry, making its flagship product easy to dose, super-concentrated, and an all-in-one solution based on an effective EL dosing method with all essential micro and macronutrients. Continue Reading Thrive fertilizer: North America's most trusted aquarium plant fertilizer Colin Grice , CEO, a self-described planted tank lover, re
Read more