The main difference between the Florida Keys Spiny Lobster and the American or Maine Lobster are the front claws. American / Maine lobsters have large front claws. Florida Keys Spiny Lobsters do not. Clawed lobsters are known as cold water lobsters, while Florida lobsters are...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing, Keys Critters
No Comment
We are well into the Spiny Lobster and Stone Crab seasons. The prices should have stabilized after the high prices of the beginning of the seasons. The Chinese play a role in Spiny Lobster prices, but also they are learning how to play the [lobster]...
Continue reading »
Food
No Comment
On Oct. 1, an amendment to the Florida statute pertaining to Spiny Lobster harvest went into effect, giving authorities more latitude in prosecutions for those who harvest undersized spiny lobster. The new legislation, SB 1470, sponsored by Rep. Holly Raschein and Sen. Jack Latvala, and...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing
No Comment
The beautifully marked Caribbean Spiny Lobster has long been a Florida seafood favorite and is arguably one of the state’s most important fisheries. Thousands of harvesters flock to the Florida Keys each year during the sport and regular season to experience some of the best...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing, Keys Critters
No Comment
Florida’s Spiny Lobster season kicks off Aug. 6 and, once again, commercial fisheries are trying to get their hands on these savory critters. FIU marine scientist Heather Bracken-Grissom offers insight on one of the state’s most iconic and economically lucrative marine animals. Lobsters are...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing, Keys Critters
No Comment
We’ve talked about exercising extra caution, both on the water and off, due to the influx of tourists partaking in lobster mini-season last week. This week, add to your boating attentiveness the presence of commercial lobster trap gear. August 1, the commercial lobstermen splashed their...
Continue reading »
Boating, Diving, Fishing
No Comment
The 2018 Florida spiny lobster season opens with the two-day recreational sport season July 25 and 26, followed by the regular commercial and recreational lobster season, which starts Aug. 6 and runs through March 31. Planning on catching some of these tasty crustaceans? Here is...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing, Keys Critters
No Comment
The commercial harvest of the Florida Keys’ most lucrative sea creature Florida Lobster was up this year, but the price fishermen were paid was way down, they said. The recreational and commercial harvest of spiny lobster will close at midnight Thursday, March 31. The commercial harvest...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing, Keys Critters
No Comment
Florida Keys [anglers] residents spoke out on dolphin fish harvests, lobster bully-netting, lionfish problems and grouper seasons when meeting with state fishery managers last summer. Wednesday in Panama City Beach, board members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will consider whether to act...
Continue reading »
Fishing
No Comment
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...
Continue reading »
Fishing, Food
No Comment
There seems to be no debate among Florida lobster aficionados concerning how to cook this delicacy of the sea. “You have got to grill them,” said restaurateur Frank Chivas. “There is no other way.” But Chivas and his longtime friend Tom Pritchard, the creative force behind...
Continue reading »
Food, Recipes
No Comment
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...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing, Key Largo, Wildlife Mobsters
No Comment
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...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing
No Comment
Anybody who’s been in the Keys for Florida’s sport lobster season knows things can get crazy, so crazy that some people think the two-day event should be stopped. According to a 2003 North Carolina State Universitystudy, the boat density during sport season, also known as...
Continue reading »
Diving, Tourism
No Comment
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...
Continue reading »
Fishing, Wildlife Mobsters
2 Comments
“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...
Continue reading »
Fishing
No Comment
This article isn’t specific about the Florida Keys but most of the information matches what you would do here. Once lobster season rolls around in Florida, the excitement [for Kayak Lobstering] couldn’t be any more on fire. Being the popular thing to do (with a...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing
No Comment
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...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing, Florida Keys
No Comment
The FWC and Coast Guard reported a rather calm lobster mini-season last Wednesday and Thursday. Neither the FWC or the Coast Guard reported accidents, injuries or deaths. Regular spiny lobster season starts Aug. 6 and runs through March 31. FWC plans to ramp up its efforts...
Continue reading »
Diving, Fishing, Florida Keys
2 Comments
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...
Continue reading »
Fishing, Wildlife Mobsters
No Comment
