If you are planning to dive for lobster, Scuba dive or Snorkle, during the Florida Keys 2 day Sport Lobster Season you must know how to lobster dive within the rules. There are a number of new rules in effect only in the Keys and during the Mini Lobster Season. Enforcement is everywhere and locals are watching for Lobster Mobsters so please dive for lobster within the rules and safely.

Snorkle and Scuba Shoreline Lobster Diving Ban Approved Monroe County, Marathon, Key Colony Beach and Islamorada have all approved ordinances banning on snorkeling and diving near marinas and private shorelines in the Florida Keys during the two-day mini-season for spiny lobsters. Most of the ordinances read pretty much the same, except the one for Key Colony Beach. Click here for more info on Dive Ban.

2009 Lobster Mini Season in the Florida Keys The RULES are different here! The two-day Sport Lobster Season is always the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July, beginning at 12:01 A.M. on Wednesday and ending at 12:00 midnight on Thursday. This year, that will be July 29 and 30, 2009. There was a request to change the Lobster Season dates. You can read about it here, Lobster Season Changes. State and Federal Waters Bag Limit: Six (6) per licensed harvester (you must have a saltwater fishing license with a lobster stamp) per day in Monroe County; twelve (12) per licensed harvester per day throughout the rest of Florida where the harvest of lobster is permitted. The two-day total of twelve lobster per licensed harvester in Monroe County can only be possessed when transporting your catch by car on, or after, the second day. Bag limits are only for properly licensed individuals and those people exempt from license requirements who are actively harvesting, and those 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. Diving at night for lobster is NOT permitted in Monroe County. Only bully netting and hoop-netting is permitted at night. “Night” is one (1) hour after official sunset to one (1) hour before official sunrise. In addition, Commissioners approved new rule language to prohibit harvest of spiny lobsters from illegal artificial habitat. That action is aimed at reducing the use of illegal structures, sometimes called “casitas,” to harvest lobsters, especially in the lower Florida Keys. Casitas Casitas, such as dumpsters, concrete slabs, bathtubs and various other materials, are illegally placed on the seabed to attract lobsters. The secretive nature of their placement makes preventing their use difficult, and they are capable of attracting hundreds of lobsters that can be easily harvested by divers. Prohibited Areas: State & Federal •Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Spiny Lobster Sanctuary (closed only to the harvest of spiny lobster) •Everglades National Park •Dry Tortugas National Park Within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary the following no-take areas are marked by 30” diameter round yellow boundary buoys: Sanctuary Preservation Areas; Special-Use Research-Only Areas; Ecological Reserves (Tortugas E.R not currently marked; refer to GPS coordinates). John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park (all of John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park is closed during the two-day Sport Lobster Season only to the harvest of spiny lobster.) More Florida Spiny Lobster Information DELUXE LOBSTER KIT The Perfect kit for Florida Lobster. Here are the all the vital things you need when you dive for the "bugs". Start with a durable, aluminum tickle stick for backing your catch into the quality strength aluminum framed net. The honey combed gloves allow you to easily grip the bug. The aluminum lobster gauge (you are required to have on in your possesion when lobstering) is easy to measure your catches to make sure they are not under the legal size limit. And finally a large mesh bag to store your catch. Click Here to get your kit delivered to you in time for your Lobster Hunt!

Recreational Lobster Harvesting Regulations for Monroe County Click here for the PDF file. Lobster Recipes More Lobster Information Florida Keys Treasures Fishing Page