FWC 2008 Lobster Report is In… Florida Keys Rules!
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Fish & Wildlife Research Institute
Summary Report of the 2008-2009 Recreational Spiny Lobster Fishing Season
Dear recreational lobster fisher,
Thank you for your participation in recreational lobster fisher surveys for the 2008-2009 fishing season. You indicated on your questionnaire that you were interested in receiving a summary of the results of these surveys. We are providing you with the information we collected from more than 2,400 recreational lobster license holders who responded to our surveys about the 2008 Special Two-Day Sport Season and the first month of the regular recreational lobster fishing season.
Survey Respondents
Survey respondents were composed of people who were highly experienced as well as those who were relatively new to the sport. About 29% had been fishing for lobsters for five years or fewer, and 29% had been fishing for lobsters for 15 years or more. Five percent of respondents indicated that it was their first time lobster fishing. About 20% of respondents indicated they had not used their lobster license during the survey period.
Recreational Landings
Preliminary estimate of the numbers of lobsters landed by recreational lobster fishers in various regions of Florida during the 2008 Special Two-Day Sport Season and the first month of the regular lobster fishing season.
The Lobster Harvest
Our preliminary estimates indicate that approximately 356,000 lobsters were caught statewide during the Special Two-Day Sport Season. Approximately 230,000 of those were landed on Wednesday, and 126,000 were landed on Thursday. We estimate that about 55,000 licensed lobster fishers participated statewide in the Special Two-Day Sport Season this year.
Approximately 606,000 lobsters were landed statewide from opening day of the regular lobster fishing season through Labor Day (August 6 through September 1). Approximately 50,000 licensed lobster fishers fished at some point during that period. Most of the lobster harvest occurred in south Florida. Approximately 63% of the lobsters caught during our survey period were caught in the Keys. Most of the remaining portion of the lobster harvest occurred along the southeast coast of the state.
Opinions
Most survey respondents (59%) thought that the bag limit of 6 lobsters per person was “about right”, 6% thought it was “too high” or “much too high”, and 16% thought it was “too low” or “much too low”. Seventeen percent of respondents had no opinion.
We asked people what their opinion was of the Special Two-Day Sport Season. Forty-seven percent of survey respondents “like it” or “like it very much”, 15% “neither like it nor dislike it”, and 18% “dislike it” or “dislike it very much”. Eighteen percent of respondents had no opinion.
Travel
The Florida Keys were the most popular lobster fishing destination for our survey respondents. Nearly 58% of all respondents who resided outside of the Keys and fished during either the Special Two-Day Sport Season or during the first month of the regular season traveled to the Keys. One hundred percent of our survey respondents who resided in the Keys and fished for lobster stayed in the Keys to do so.
Visit our Website
Additional information about Caribbean spiny lobster can be found at the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission’s website at http://research.MyFWC.com.
Again, thank you for participating in our mail survey. This past year marks the eighteenth consecutive season we have conducted surveys of recreational lobster fishers.
Florida’s spiny lobster fishery is one of the most valuable in the state. The information that you and other survey respondents have provided has been invaluable in helping us to understand and effectively manage this valuable fishery.
Kerry E. Maxwell
Marine Research Associate
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Fish & Wildlife Research Institute
2796 Overseas Highway, Suite 119
Marathon, FL 33050
(305) 289-2330
spinylobster@myFWC.com
