Florida’s lobster mini season kicked off last week allowing hunters the opportunity to get out ahead of the regular season and get some delectable crustaceans for the dinner table ahead of anyone else.
The mini season or spiny lobster sport season as our friends at FWC technically refer to it, takes place during the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July each year. It draws out hundreds of lobster hunters looking for an edge on the regular season and typically results in a very fruitful hunt for those in the water.
Lobster season comes with strict bag limits of six creatures per person, both in the mini and regular seasons and given the popularity of the hunt, these bag limits are strictly enforced.
On a routine patrol during last week’s mini season, FWC officers spotted a commercial rig flying a dive flag and decided to investigate. The boat was underway with dive flags present which tipped off the officers that something was amiss. Dive flags are meant to only be flown when divers are in the water.
“On the first day of the two-day mini-season, our officers saw a commercial vessel with a dive flag flying while the boat was underway,” Florida Fish and Wildlife explained in a news release. “Stopping the vessel to speak to the operator about the incorrect use of the dive flag, they conducted a routine fisheries inspection, discovering a total of 138 lobsters!”
With six fishermen aboard the vessel, officers determined that the accused had grossly gone over limits. Having gone over the limit by 102 lobsters, the individuals were immediately cited for the offense. The poached lobsters, which had perished, were confiscated as evidence.
The investigation is said to be ongoing.
