Florida Lobster Season
WHEN IS FLORIDA LOBSTER MINI SEASON?
MINI LOBSTER SEASON DATES – July 29-30, 2015
The last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July each year.
Florida Lobster is also known as “Spiny Lobster”.
FLORIDA LOBSTER MINI SEASON LIMITS –
- 6 per person per day for Monroe County and Biscayne National Park
- 12 per person per day for the rest of Floridami
- Carapace larger than 3″, measured in the water
Possession and use of measuring device is required at all times. How to measure spiny lobster
REGULAR LOBSTER SEASON DATES – August 6, 2015 – March 31, 2016
PROHIBITIONS
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
- Harvest of lobster is prohibited in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park during the sport season and in Everglades National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, no-take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and in the Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary during both the 2-day sport season and regular season.
- Unless exempt, a 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
- Regardless of what species you are fishing for, bag limits are only for properly licensed individuals and those people exempt from license requirements who are actively harvesting. People harvesting may not exceed their individual bag limit and take someone else’s bag limit. That is, people (including children) who are not actively harvesting or are not properly licensed (if a license is required) may NOT be counted for purposes of bag limits.
Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
