Anglers in the Sunshine State began their spiny lobster mini-season on July 14, 10 days before the July 24 official start. This followed an extra day gift for the upcoming Florida lobster mini-season by governor Ron DeSantis.

The extra day happened following Executive Order 24-13, which the governor invoked specially for Florida residents only.

DeSantis said that Floridians enjoy the best fisheries in the world due to sustainable investments and deserved to enjoy the protected resource.

Alongside the fishing day bonus, the governor announced an additional $5 million coral reef-preservation fund for the Florida Keys archipelago.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)’s chair of the board, Rodney Barreto lauded the funding and extra fishing day.

“A great opportunity,” he remarked, adding that people who are normally at work each mini-season could now fish freely.

Rodney also assured disapproving commercial fishermen that the extra recreational harvest would hardly impact the crustaceans’ health.  This is despite the fact that the nearby Belize’s spiny lobster season has been underway since July 1, 2024.

Jerome Young , Executive Director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, however differed. He told KeysNews.com that recreational fishing should stay within scientific fishing limits.

Mini-Season Vs the Main Season

Despite the dissent by commercial anglers, there are shared attributes between the mini and main crawfish season in Florida. 

While the mini-season runs in the final consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July, the main season lasts from August 6 to March 31.

During the recreational two-day harvest, all citizens in Florida with licenses can fish while commercial fishermen install their traps. 

While the two-day harvest is of a sporty nature, it has the same rules as the main season. These include six lobster daily per individual in the protected areas of Biscayne National Park and Monroe County. 

Although some areas allow 12 lobster per individual in the mini-season, the main season’s daily limit remains six per individual statewide. 

So, 2024 has already seen divers enjoy a bonus day in the Florida lobster mini-season before the actual July 24-25 start. And as the statistics below show, the crustacean is an important seafood in this southern state alongside shrimp and crab. 

Florida Lobster Statistics 

The Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) is the main lobster species in Florida. In comparison, most of the United States produces American lobster (Homarus americanus) species. In the 2023-24 year, Florida ranked fourth in federal lobster production at 4,702,267 pounds (2,133 tonnes), all spiny lobster. Leaders Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire (all with American lobster species) had 110, 230,440 pounds (50,000 tonnes), 16,826,704 pounds (7,633 tonnes) and 5,708,942 pounds (2,590 tonnes) respectively. 

Which coast of Florida produces the most spiny lobster? 

Florida West produced the most spiny lobster in 2022 at 5,189,098 pounds (2,354 tonnes) according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Authority (NOAA).  Florida West, in comparison, produced 450,000 pounds (204 tonnes) in 2022. In terms of income, Florida West’s catches generated $41.493 million while Florida East’s $3.451 million.

How important is the lobster sector in Florida? 

According to the Florida Department  of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the seafood sector provides 3,000 jobs in the state.  In 2021, shrimp was Florida’s most valuable seafood worth $69 million, then crab at $52 million and spiny lobster at 42.2 million. Spiny lobster was the most important fishery by value on the West coast of Florida in 2021 worth $37.8 million. On the east coast however, spiny lobsters came fourth in value at $4.4 million behind leaders shrimp, mackerel and blue crab.