KEY WEST, Fla. — It's Florida's own version of Lobsterfest: the state's two-day spiny lobster sport season kicks off July 27, and anyone can take to the water!
Lobster hunters can start looking for lobsters Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. There's a daily bag limit of six per person in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park, with a 12 lobster limit for the rest of the state.
The lobster's carapace — that's the animal's upper-body shell — must be larger than 3 inches with a measurement taken in the water, state wildlife officials say. It's measured beginning at the forward edge between the rostral horns, excluding soft tissue, to the edge of the carapace.
Visit GoOutdoorsFlorida.com to get a license and spiny lobster permit if interested.
Here are a few other things to keep in mind, according to the FWC:
- Unless exempt, a recreational saltwater fishing license and a lobster permit are required to harvest spiny lobster.
- Lobster must be landed in whole condition. Separating the tail from the body is prohibited in state waters.
- The harvest or possession of eggbearing spiny lobster, or any other eggbearing species of lobster belonging to the families Palinuridae (spiny lobsters), Scyllaridae (slipper lobsters) or Synaxidae (furry lobsters) is prohibited.
- No person shall harvest or attempt to harvest spiny lobster using any device which will or could puncture, penetrate or crush the exoskeleton (shell) or the flesh of the lobster.
- Recreational trapping prohibited.
The state's regular spiny lobster season runs from Aug. 6 through March 31, with a daily bag limit of six per person.