2019 lobster mini season final update

It was a another busy lobster mini season for the Sheriff’s Office, but thankfully we had no fatal incidents.

The most serious incidents reported by the Sheriff’s Office occurred Thursday: An out-of-county man was struck by a boat prop on his leg/foot, taken to Conch Key then to Mariners Hospital and then airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center in Miami. His injuries were not expected to be life-threatening. The Sheriff’s Office also assisted in the search for a missing diver near Spanish Harbor Bridge, but the driver was located safely shortly thereafter.

Deputies on the water reported most anglers were harvesting legally, but there are always violators every year despite our educational efforts.

The following stats are the combined numbers from all four Sheriff’s Office Districts from Key Largo to Key West and they do not include stats from our law enforcement partners such as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Highway Patrol, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Coast Guard:

  • 597 vessel stops/resource/safety inspections
  • Three arrests (one for over-the-limit, one person had a warrant unrelated to mini season and another person was arrested on the water for drug violations.)
  • Forty notice to appear in court citations issued for undersized/over-the-bag limit or other violations

There were no major wildlife violations, in other words: Cases where anglers had large numbers of over-the-limit or undersized lobsters. The Deputies on the water reported all the citations issued were for cases in which the violator had but a few undersized or over-the-limit.

Again, these figures do not include cases or stats from our law enforcement partners such as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Highway Patrol, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Coast Guard.

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