State fishery managers have removed a loophole that gave some unscrupulous commercial trap fishermen a leg up on fellow fishermen and had serious impact on the lucrative spiny lobster fishery, which is centered in the Florida Keys. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) amended its regulations for stone crab traps used in Collier, … Read more
A state marine officer found two undersized nurse sharks and a dead moray eel while inspecting a catch made from an Islamorada dock Thursday. Officer Paul Hein of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spotted several people fishing off a private dock near Tea Table Key around 3 p.m. Hein saw two nurse sharks, … Read more
There has been a long ongoing debate about the availability of various seafood populations in all of Florida and the Florida Keys. There are several groups (they now call these groups “stake holders”) that have different opinions on how these populations are doing. Commercial Fishermen rely on plentiful catches and a thriving market with high … Read more
The harvest of spiny lobster off the Florida Keys has never been better, but the price fishermen are being paid is down significantly so far because the Asian market has yet to take off this season. The season started earlier this month with trap fishermen catching near record number of lobster, fishermen said. A trap … Read more
KeysCaribbean Luxury Resort Villas & Marinas salutes four Florida Keys events in September and offers three compelling reasons to enjoy an end-of-summer escape to the Keys. “September in the Florida Keys is a great time to experience events that can only be found here.” said Sam Schorr, KeysCaribbean managing director. KeysCaribbean Luxury Resort Villas & … Read more
A new general management plan will phase out private airboat use on 109,000 acres added to the park in 1989 and require commercial operators to come under management of Everglades National Park as concessions. Permits will be given to longtime users but cannot be passed on. The aging gladesmen of the River of Grass will … Read more
Four Homestead men aboard a 15-foot skiff off North Key Largo were arrested Sunday on multiple conservation charges Sunday, state marine officers report. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers recovered a mesh bag from the bottom of Angelfish Creek, agency spokesman Officer Bobby Dube said. The bag held undersized lobster, snapper and grouper. … Read more
A final decision on new rule to protect barracuda in South Florida goes to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission at its Sept. 3 meeting in Fort Lauderdale. Barracuda, a popular catch for Florida Keys flats fishermen and a familiar sight to Keys divers and flats fishermen, currently lack harvest limits that safeguard the populations … Read more
A push to end lobster mini-season in Florida Keys waters drew the notice of Monroe County Planning Commissioners on July 29. Planning Commissioner William Wiatt urged his fellow commissioners to speak to Monroe County commissioners in support of “a working group … to discuss and evaluate the current regulations, specifically in county waters, that govern … Read more
The device is called the Zoo-Keeper Lionfish Containment Unit, and word of mouth has turned it into a must-have Lionfish capture device for many recreational divers in the Caribbean and Florida. Sarasota entrepreneur Allie ElHage didn’t know anything about the lionfish until late 2011. Four years later, after designing a device that divers use to … Read more
The Chica Travelsita, Travel Blogger and Travel Agent explores the Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West! She stays at The Casa Morada in Islamorada, explores the waters with Upper Keys Sport Fishing and The Florida Fisherman and experiences delicious food and drinks at Lorelei’s Restaurant and Bar, Bitton Bistro and The Square Grouper. … Read more
(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto) Curt Clawson, R-Bonita Springs, has introduced a bill that would ban importing all 11 lionfish species, including the nine that have not been found in U.S. waters. The bill would not interfere with the selling of fish fillets, which encourages to help eliminate the fish in Florida waters. The bill was introduced last … Read more
A Big Pine Key fisherman arrested in October for lobster fishing with hundreds of illegal traps was ordered Thursday to surrender 400 traps, effectively cutting his fishing capabilities in half, according to court records. David Lee Boggs, 51, was ultimately charged with more than 100 counts of misdemeanor fishing without proper tags after state wildlife officers … Read more
As Eric Billips reaches the bottom of the reef, 90 feet down, he spots a cloud of minnows around a coral head, and as expected, finds half a dozen lionfish lurking nearby. They’re beautiful, hovering like little resplendent flowers. But they’re dangerous, housing 18 venomous spines that repel predators. Billips is able to spear three … Read more
“What’s going to happen when the season starts is always the question,” said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association. “I’m optimistic that things will be good,” said Marathon fisherman Richie Stiglitz, who grew on his family’s lobster boats. “As long as the price is good, we could all make some … Read more
Jon Hazelbaker captures a legal lobster on a patch reef off Big Pine Key. The Fort Myers Beach resident and researchers say lobsters are scarce in the Keys, but commercial fishermen say the popular crustaceans are plentiful.(Photo: Kevin Lollar/The News-Press) With all the lawyer jokes out there, Fort Myers attorney Steven Koeppel didn’t do his … Read more
As an uneventful lobster mini-season came to a close, commercial lobster fishermen remained optimistic about the start of the regular season on Aug. 6. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the Coast Guard did not report any accidents, injuries or deaths as of Thursday evening. The FWC did cite multiple people diving on … Read more
Three [Lobster Mobsters] fishermen convicted of robbing lobster traps and possession of undersized lobsters in June stemming from their September 2011 arrest were banned from commercial lobster fishing for life and two of them were given prison time. The captain of the Marathon-based commercial lobster fishing vessel Classy Lady, Nelson Rojas, was convicted of trap … Read more
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary officials are encouraging divers and snorkelers to have a low-impact lobster mini-season when they take to the waters on Wednesday and Thursday in search of bugs. Lobster mini-season, commonly referred to as sport season, is one of the busiest times on the ocean in the Florida Keys, as thousands of … Read more
Lionfish add a new wrinkle in rules for the 2015 lobster mini-season Wednesday and Thursday. In the one significant change to traditional lobster rules for the sport season, divers who harvest 10 lionfish [you don’t have to stop at 10!] will be allowed to take one — and only one — extra lobster per day. … Read more