Gear up for Florida recreational spiny lobster season!
If you are gearing up to participate in the recreational spiny lobster sport season on July 24 and 25, followed by the regular recreational season, which opens on Aug. 6 and runs through March 31, 2025, we want to help set you up for a fun, successful and safe time out on the water.
Remember the harvest regulations: lobsters must be a minimum 3-inch carapace length (measured in water) to be harvested. Harvesters may take six lobsters per day in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park, or 12 lobsters per day in all other state waters. Learn more about bag limits, size limits, where to harvest and other regulations at MyFWC.com/Marine by clicking on “Recreational Regulations” and “Lobster” under the “Crabs, Lobster and other Shellfish” tab. If you plan to lobster in the Keys, another great resource is the Monroe County Tourist Development Council website KeysLobsterSeason.com.
Don’t forget to get your recreational saltwater fishing license and spiny lobster permit at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com.
For Lionfish Challenge participants, qualifying for the 2024 Lionfish Challenge Coin now allows for the harvest of two extra lobsters each day of the 2024 sport season. Challenge participants can qualify for the Challenge Coin by reporting at least 25 lionfish as a recreational harvester or at least 50 pounds of lionfish as a commercial harvester. Participants must have the physical 2024 FWC-issued Challenge Coin on their person to harvest the two extra lobsters. Register for the 2024 Lionfish Challenge at FWCReefRangers.com.
If bully netting this season, keep lights directed toward the water and avoid shining them at houses or people along the shoreline. Please be considerate of others by keeping sound levels low when near shoreline residences.
Don’t forget to use care around corals and other marine life. Touching corals or other marine life can harm these sensitive organisms. The FWC launched the Florida Coral Crew to engage sportsmen and women in the effort to combat Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. Before you go out looking for lobster, you can sign up to join the crew at FLCoralCrew.com.
Be safe when diving for lobster. Wear a life jacket when underway and designate a sober operator for the vessel. When lobstering in open water, divers should stay within 300 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag or device and within 100 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag or device if near an inlet or navigation channel. Boat operators traveling within 300 feet of a divers-down flag or device in open water or within 100 feet of one on an inlet or navigational channel must slow to idle speed. For more information, visit MyFWC.com/Boating, select “Boating Regulations,” followed by “Divers-down Warning Devices.”
Videos: Spiny Lobster Season 2021 – YouTube or Spiny Lobster Season 2021 on Vimeo
