Spiny Lobster Season Includes Added Bonus This Year By Harvesting Lionfish

regular lobster season begins Aug. 6

MyFWC.com – The 2015 spiny lobster season opens with the two-day recreational sport season July 29 and 30, followed by the regular commercial and recreational lobster season, which starts Aug. 6 and runs through March 31.

In addition, this year, divers have an incentive to remove some invasive lionfish while they’re in the water. Divers can take one extra spiny lobster each day during the two-day sport season if they also harvest 10 or more lionfish first, on the same day.

Planning on catching some of these tasty crustaceans? Here is what you need to know before you go.

No one wants a small lobster for dinner. Make sure you check the size. Measuring devices are required, and lobsters must be measured while they are in the water. If the carapace length is not larger than 3 inches, it must be left in the water (see image on how to measure spiny lobster).

To protect the next generation and your future chances to have lobster for dinner, harvest of egg-bearing females is prohibited. Lobsters have hundreds of thousands of eggs that are easily visible and attached under the tail.

While most lobsters have completed reproduction by the start of the fishing season, finding lobsters with eggs is common in July and August.

Bring a cooler big enough to hold the entire lobster. Spiny lobsters must remain in whole condition until they are brought to shore. Also, do not take spiny lobster with any device that might puncture, penetrate or crush its shell.

Stick to the bag and possession limits so there will be enough lobsters for all your friends and family. During the two-day spiny lobster sport season, recreational divers and snorkelers can take up to six lobsters per person daily in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park waters or seven lobsters if they take at least 10 lionfish first that same day.

In other Florida waters, they can take 12 lobsters per person day or 13 if they first take at least 10 lionfish on that same day. You may possess no more than the daily bag limit of lobsters when you are on the water.

When you are off the water, you may possess no more than the daily bag limit on the first day of the sport season and no more than double the daily bag limit on the second day.

See the chart for an easy-to-read guide on the two-day sport season bag limits. During the Aug. 6 to March 31 regular season, the daily recreational bag and on-the-water possession limit is six spiny lobsters per person.

While the waters may be less crowded at night, diving for spiny lobsters after the sun goes down is not allowed in Monroe County during the two-day sport season.

Know where you can go. Lobster harvest is always prohibited in Everglades National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Spiny Lobster Sanctuary, certain areas of John Pennekamp State Park, and no-take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. During the two-day season, all harvest of lobster is prohibited throughout John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

Have the proper paperwork. A recreational saltwater fishing license and a spiny lobster permit are required to recreationally harvest spiny lobsters unless you are exempt from recreational license requirements.

Additionally, if you plan to participate in the lionfish incentive program, you’ll need to have proof of your lionfish catch before you harvest the extra lobster.

This can be done by keeping the lionfish in a cooler or container while you’re on the water. If you’re off the water, a picture of you with your lionfish will meet the requirement.

Information about these licenses and permits is available online at MyFWC.com/License.

If you’re planning on removing lionfish while you’re out in the water, and want to use a spear, be aware of no-spearing zones and always check with your local law enforcement agency before planning your spearfishing trips.

If you take a photo of your lionfish and lobster catch during the two-day season, post it on Facebook.com/LionfishReefRangers; the first 100 submissions will receive a “Be the Predator” T-shirt.

Whether you’re one of the first 100 submissions or not, everyone who submits a photo will qualify for a special prize.

One lucky winner will win a lifetime saltwater fishing license in a drawing held shortly after the sport season.

Safety first. Divers, even those who wade in, should stay within 300 feet of a properly displayed divers-down symbol (red with a white diagonal stripe) on a flag or buoy when in open water and within 100 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag or buoy if on a river, inlet or navigation channel.

Boat operators must slow to idle speed if they need to travel within 300 feet of a divers-down flag or buoy in open water or 100 feet of one on a river, inlet or navigational channel.

Divers-down flags displayed on vessels must be at least 20 inches by 24 inches, and a stiffener is required to keep the flag unfurled. The flag must be displayed from the highest point of the vessel, must be visible from all directions and must be displayed only when divers are in the water.

So when the divers are out of the water, don’t forget to take it down. Divers-down symbols towed by divers must be at least 12 inches by 12 inches. More information on divers-down flag requirements is available online at MyFWC.com/Boating by clicking on “Boating Regulations.”

Additional information on recreational spiny lobster fishing, including how to measure spiny lobster, is available online at MyFWC.com/Fishing by clicking on “Saltwater,” “Recreational Regulations” and “Lobster.”

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