Peter Schorsch
Florida’s 2023 spiny lobster season opens July 26 with a two-day recreational mini-season. The regular commercial and recreational season starts Aug. 6 and runs through March 31, 2024.
“My family and I look forward to spiny lobster season every year along with thousands of other Floridians,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Chairman Rodney Barreto said. “It’s a great time to get out on the water with loved ones. I hope everyone takes care to practice safe boating and make sure to do your part to protect Florida’s coral reefs.”
The daily bag limit is six lobsters per person in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park. The limit is 12 in all other parts of Florida.
Possession limits on the water are the same as the daily bag limit. Off the water, the limit is equal to the daily bag limit on the first day and double the daily limit on the second day. Possession limits are enforced both on and off the water.
Lobsters must be larger than three-inches, measured in the water. Possession and use of a measuring device is required at all times. Information on how to measure a spiny lobster is available online.
Harvesting lobster is prohibited in some areas, including 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, in the Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary, and in the five Coral Reef Protection Areas in Biscayne National Park during both the two-day sport season and regular season.
Individuals may obtain a license for harvesting spiny lobster at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com.
FWC officials ask that those using bully netting this season take care to keep lights directed toward the water, and not at houses or people along the shoreline. They also ask for consideration of noise levels when near the shore or residences.
Boaters should use care around corals and other marine life. FWC launched the Florida Coral Crew to engage individuals on the water in an effort to combat Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease.
FWC is also advising proper safety precautions, including wearing a life vest while on a vessel and not drinking and boating. When lobstering in open water, divers should stay within 300 feet of a divers-down flag or device. When diving near an inlet or navigation channel, divers should stay within 100 feet of a divers-down flag or device.
Boaters should reduce speed to idle when traveling within 300 feet of a divers-down flag in open water or within 100 feet of one on an inlet or in a navigational channel.
