One of the most prominent seafood harvesting seasons in Florida splashes into action Wednesday.
The Florida spiny lobster season makes its two-day run Wednesday through Thursday. It’s just a sampling of the larger regular season that will get underway in less than a week.
The two-day spiny lobster sport season is for recreational enthusiasts. Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are advising lobster harvesters to pay heed to specific limitations and regulations.
Anyone heading into the two-day spiny lobster sport season must have a saltwater fishing license along with a spiny lobster permit. They can be obtained from the FWC.
FWC law enforcement officials will be watching for compliance with specific regulations among those who catch spiny lobsters. The crustaceans must have a carapace length of at least 3 inches, which is the length of their hard shell running from their tail to the tip near their eyes. Those harvesting lobsters are required to have a measuring device on their vessels.
When captured, lobsters must remain whole, and it is prohibited for anglers to separate the tails from the body. It’s also illegal to use devices that puncture, penetrate or crush the lobster shell, and any female lobsters with eggs must be returned to the water.
Harvest limits are stricter in Monroe County, including the Florida Keys, and in Biscayne National Park waters, where recreational harvesters can bag only six lobsters per day. Other areas of Florida allow harvesters to capture up to 12 lobsters per person per day.
Spiny lobsters are different from traditional lobsters that are often harvested in New England waters. Florida spiny lobsters have no claws and are specific to tropical and subtropical waters in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of America. Generally, their habitat is near crevices and coral reefs on the ocean floor.
The two-day harvesting season this week is just a prelude to the longer season that lasts for eight months in Florida waters. The regular season begins Aug. 6 and runs through March 31.
