Grab Your Tickle Stick, It's Lobster Mini-Season
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – South Florida divers grabbed their tickle sticks and hit the water early Wednesday morning for the start to the annual two-day lobster mini-season.
The season lasts until midnight on Thursday. The regular season begins Aug. 6 and lasts until March 31.
Florida wildlife officers made three arrests late Tuesday before the season even got underway. Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stopped a boat in Islamorada in the Florida Keys and found about 20 spiny lobsters in a netted bag.
The men face misdemeanor charges for each lobster.
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.
Each lobster must have a carapace length greater than 3 inches to be legally taken during the open season. 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.
Click Here for the rules of this year's mini-season.
Night diving for spiny lobsters during the two-day sport season is not allowed in Monroe County. Additionally, there is no lobster hunting in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park during the two-day season.
FAST FACTS ABOUT LOBSTER MINI SEASON
Lobster harvest is also prohibited at all times in Everglades National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Spiny Lobster Sanctuary, certain areas in Pennekamp Park, and no-take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
