Lobster Mini-Season Underway With Slow Start

MIAMI (CBS4) – Get the drawn butter ready because lobster lovers across South Florida are hitting the water for Florida's two-day annual lobster mini-season which got underway at the stroke of midnight.

But Lobster season didn't start off very well for some. A man died diving off the coast of the Upper Florida Keys sometime after Midnight Wednesday.

On Biscayne Bay, the water wasn't as crowded with boaters as usual due to the weather which caused the water to be rough, CBS4's Kara Kostanich reported.

However, a boat did capsize off Government Cut and three divers had to be rescued, Kostanich reported.

Later Wednesday, it was a cloudy day over the skies.

"It was rough out there, you can see the skies are gray and it was bad," diver Jorge Yanes said. "The weather was bad."

But that didn't stop divers from their next catch.

"There are a lot of lobsters out there," diver Alex Matos said. "It's a lot of fun, but we're heading back in for a little while so we can recuperate ourselves and we're headed right back out."

Matos and his crew caught eight lobsters, but they hope to reach the limit.

CBS4's Jorge Estevez caught up with two women who were out handling lobsters, but it wasn't for them. It was for science.

"We are trying to determine if the lobsters have a virus," Dr. Lisa Krimsky with the University of Florida said. "For juvenile lobsters it increases their mortality greatly for adult lobsters it changes their behavior."

But not to worry, the lobsters are still safe to eat. And that's good news for divers.

Along with divers and snorkelers there's also law enforcement officials who are making sure all those lobster lovers conduct the underwater hunt legally.

FWC warns boaters not to put the lobster hunt ahead of safety.

"Wait until tomorrow," Jorge Pino with the FWC said. "Come out when the weather is nice. Don't risk going out in these kinds of conditions."

To help keep things legal, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission official are using specially trained dogs to conduct boat inspections. The dogs are trained for game detection and can sniff out resource violations.

Story: Diver In Keys First Fatality Of Lobster Mini-Season

"We're going to have four dogs in the area that are going to be out there making sure that people do the right thing," said FWC  spokesman Jorge Pino.  "Unfortunately we have individuals that like to go out there, they get their limit, (but) that's not enough for them."

The FWC said the dogs' noses are so sensitive; they can do in five minutes what would take an officer more than half an hour to do.

"Our dogs are trained to detect wildlife hidden in different compartments in vessels, hidden in dive gear, hidden in vehicles," said FWC officer Hank Juntunen.

The FWC, along with a host of local and federal law enforcement officers, are patrolling South Florida's inshore and offshore waters in marked and unmarked boats; overhead in planes and helicopters; and on the roads and boat ramps in vehicles. They will check for boating safety violations and resource poaching.

While diving for lobster is a lot of fun, those in the water must be responsible. Pino said there are plenty of safety rules that boaters and divers need to know before they hit the water in order to stay safe.

Click here for a Guide to Florida's Lobster Mini-Season.

"If you are found in violation it's a second degree misdemeanor, depending on what violation it is, could be six months in jail, up to a $500 fine, we can take all your equipment if we choose to, we can confiscate your vessel if we need to," said Pino.

The special two-day spiny lobster sport season began at midnight, July 27 and lasts for just 48 hours. It's followed by the regular lobster season Aug. 6 through March 31.

Click here for Gallery: Lobster Lovers Dive Into Mini-Season.

The special two-day sport season occurs on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July each year to let recreational harvesters collect spiny lobsters before commercial lobster traps are placed in the water on Aug 1.

And if you need more information, just click here for the FWC website for additional rules, regulations and important information about lobster mini-season.