Sport lobster season: A yearly ritual for divers
5/25/2004 1:18:38 PM by Mike Petrovsky
Summertime and the living is easy --
except for a critter that goes by the Latin name panulirus argus. Each
summer, divers, snorkelers and waders armed with tickle sticks invade
the salt water shallows of South Florida in search of the intensely
nomadic Florida spiny lobster, which should not be confused with the
large-clawed creature that lurks off the coast at the other end of
Interstate 95 -- although many consider the Florida variety, actually a
crawfish, to be just as tasty as its Maine cousin -- a cousin many
times removed. Spiny lobsters, or "bugs" as they are known by locals,
can be elusive, although once their group hiding spot is found, they
are relatively easy to catch. "They can be found anywhere there's a
reef or rock structure, or any ledge," said
William "Willie" Puz, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission spokesman. He added that one day a hunter will find a spot
teaming with lobsters and the next day the same spot might be empty --
such is the nature of the hunt. "It's just that conditions were right
for lobsters to be there that day, that's all," Puz said.
'TIS THE SEASON
Spiny lobster season begins Aug. 6 and runs until March 31 for
recreational and commercial harvesting. There was a two-day sport
season for recreational harvesting only, which this year fell July
28-29. As a rule of thumb, Florida's sport season falls on the last
consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July. Whether the two-day mini
season, as it's sometimes called, gives recreational lobster hunters an
advantage seems to be a subject for much debate in South Florida. "I've
heard everything from, 'It does not matter' to 'I noticed the
difference,' " said Puz referring to conversations he has had with
veteran recreational lobster hunters about the availability of the bugs
during the Sport Season. Advantageous or not, the two-day season
attracts throngs to South Florida waters. So many in fact that in the
Florida Keys -- where there has even been a monument erected to the
crustaceous critter -- the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
enlists the help of and deputizes numerous additional wildlife officers
specifically to enforce commission regulations for the two-day season.
PERMITS AND PENALTIES
Recreational lobster hunters must have a Florida Saltwater Fishing
License with a crawfish endorsement commonly referred to as a "lobster
stamp." Kevin Mehegan is a state Fish and Wildlife law enforcement
officer in the Keys. He said the legal limit is six lobsters per person
per boat adding that lobster must have a "carapace'' measuring at least
three inches. Acarapace is measured roughly along a shell section from
just behind the lobster's eyes to the point where the shell section
ends and the lobster's tail starts.
"It can be measured with a plastic or metal lobster gauge you can find
at any dive store," Mehegan said. The enforcement officer added the
lobster must be measured before it is "brought topside." "You can't
bring a lobster on your boat to measure it," he said. It should also be
noted that lobsters must remain whole at sea and that tails can only be
separated while on land. Also, when a tail is separated from a lobster
body, it must measure at least 5 1/2 inches. The penalties and fines
for taking too many lobsters or lobsters that are too small vary
depending on the number of previous offenses and the amount. Mehegan
said that in the Keys the fines increase in increments of six, meaning
that the fine is the same whether your boat is one lobster over the
limit or six over. But, more important, Mehegan said, is that violating
the lobster regulations is a misdemeanor. Wildlife commission spokesman
Puz said that, statewide, illegal harvesting of spiny lobsters,
depending on the severity of the offense, is a first- or second-degree
misdemeanor and, in addition to the fines and penalties imposed by the
state in Florida Statute 370.021, each county has its own schedule of
penalties, most notably stringent, he said, are the penalties imposed
by the Keys' Monroe County where the most spiny lobster violations in
the state occur. Divers should also know that diving for lobster at
night is not permitted in Monroe County waters and their adjacent
federal waters.
NETTING BUGS
Bully netting and hoop netting spiny lobsters is permitted in some
areas at night -- with "night" being defined as one hour after sunset
until one hour before sunrise. Abully net has a circular frame attached
at a right angle to the end of a pole. Its frame supports a conical bag
of webbing.
Ahoop net has a frame, which can be circular, that supports a shallow
bag of webbing. The hoop net's frame-bag combination is suspended by a
line and bridles.
Some information for this article was provided by the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.