Florida Keys two-day lobster mini-season arrives July 25 and 26

The two-day lobster mini-season arrives July 25 and 26, and the Florida Keys will be inundated with thousands of people looking to score their share of the tasty crustaceans before Florida’s eight-month regular recreational and commercial season starts Aug. 6.

 

But if you’re thinking of violating any of the rules regulating the harvest of lobster, authorities have a message: If you get caught, you will face consequences.

 

“The Monroe County State Attorney’s Office is committed to preserving all of the Florida Keys’ natural resources,” State Attorney Dennis Ward said. “During the upcoming lobster mini-season, law enforcement officers will be patrolling our waters, bridges and parks to ensure that laws pertaining to lobster are enforced. Be aware that there is a jail component in these laws, and that violators are sometimes sentenced to a period of jail for these violations.”

 

The two-day mini-season starts at 12:01 a.m. July 25 and ends at 11:59 p.m. July 26. The harvest limit in Monroe County is six lobster per person per day.

 

A lobster’s carapace, or shell, must be at least three inches long for harvest; divers should have a measuring device with them to measure each lobster they pull from the water.

 

A lobster’s tail cannot be separated (wrung) from the body while the harvester is on the water; lobsters must be brought back to land in whole condition. When the tail is separated from the body on land, it must be greater than 5.5 inches

 

Harvesting egg-bearing female lobsters is not allowed.

 

Diving for lobster after sunset and before sunrise is not allowed but bullynetting is. Bullynetting is using a long-handled net and a light to see lobster to bring them up from the bottom. Spearing lobster is not allowed.

 

The possible penalty for possession of each undersized lobster is up to 60 days in jail, a $500 fine, or both. The following violations are separate offenses, which may be charged additionally, each carrying a possible penalty of up to 60 days in jail, a $500 fine, or both: Possession of wrung lobster tail(s) on the water; harvesting lobster with a spear; harvesting an egg-bearing lobster; and possessing lobster in excess of the bag limit. Moreover, a recreational harvester may not possess more than his or her bag limit in the water (i.e., one person holding a catch bag in the water containing more than six lobsters for more than one harvester). Lastly, people not actively engaged in the harvest of lobster or who are not properly licensed (if a license is required) may not be counted for bag-limit purposes.

 

There could be additional penalties for taking lobster in protected areas of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The locations of those protected areas can be found at https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/.

 

Additionally, unincorporated Monroe County and the municipalities of Key West, Marathon, Islamorada, Key Colony Beach and Layton have local rules prohibiting lobstering nearshore. The specifics for each area are on the marine sanctuary’s website.

 

Lobstering is also prohibited in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, Everglades National Park and the Biscayne Bay-Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary.

 

To harvest lobster, one must possess a recreational saltwater fishing license with a lobster endorsement. Go to myfwc.com/License.

 

When the regular season opens Aug. 6, the same regulations for Monroe County are in effect except lobstering is allowed in Pennekamp except for the park’s exclusion zones, which can be found on the marine sanctuary’s website.

Photo courtesy of NOAA.

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