Florida Lobster Mini-Season Is Back: Please Don't Die!

Update published 11 a.m. 8/1/2024: In response to New Times’ public records request for reports of injuries and deaths during Florida’s 2024 lobster mini-season, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) confirmed only one injury, in which a snorkeler was struck by a boat near the Boca Chica Bridge in the Lower Keys.

Update published 2:45 p.m. 7/24/2024: Lobster mini-season is here, and bad things have happened already.

Late this morning, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office posted on social media that a diver was seriously injured when he was struck by a boat propeller.

"An adult male diving for lobster near the Boca Chica Bridge in the Lower Keys was reportedly struck by a boat propeller and flown to a Miami hospital via Trauma Star at approximately 8:09 a.m. Wednesday," the announcement reads in part.

Well-informed New Times readers are aware that while the two-day mini-season officially began today at 12:01 a.m., the rules are a little different in Monroe County, where divers are required to hold off until an hour before sunrise.

Closer to home, Local 10 reports that Miami-Dade Fire Rescue confirmed that a missing diver whose boat capsized near Fisher Island was rescued by another boat. No further information was available

Be careful out there, please!
Original story is below:

Divers, prepare your tickle stick. Home chefs, fire up your grills. And shellfish lovers, prepare to feast. Florida's annual lobster mini-season is back.

Every July, tens of thousands of snorkelers and scuba divers take to the (exceptionally) warm waters off the South Florida shores in search of spiny lobsters, the clawless crustaceans that live along the coral reefs of the southern third of the state.

The event, officially called the Spiny Lobster Sport Season but typically referred to as the Florida Lobster Mini-Season, transpires over the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday each July — that would be July 24-25, 2024 — plus a bonus day this year courtesy of Gov. Ron DeSantis, which is this Sunday, July 14.

The event precedes regular lobster season, which runs August 6 through March 31, when commercial fishermen can also catch lobsters.

If you plan to partake in the bonus day, the two-day bender, or both, we beseech you: Please don't die.

Every year, the hunt seems to bring various mishaps, including a fatality or two.

As if preordained, last year's Florida spiny lobster mini-season saw one fatality and one bizarre injury despite being beset by inclement weather.

A man drowned after failing to climb back into a boat off Key Biscayne; Miami-Dade police believe the victim, said to have been in his 60s, may have suffered a medical episode that caused him to fall back into the water. The second incident took place off Boca Chita Key in Biscayne Bay, where a man was struck by a police boat.

Looking further back, Treasure Coast News has reported that an average of two people die each mini-season. Catherine Harris, research associate for fatality and injury monitoring for Divers Alert Network (DAN), tells New Times that as many as 15 people were involved in fatal accidents related to mini-season dives between 2016 and 2022.

"We've had a reported average of as many as three to four fatal accidents each year and a lot more injuries — everything from shortness of breath to something more serious like being struck by a boat prop," says Harris, whose department monitors news and social media, as well as its member testimonials, to gather data.

In 2022, two people died on the first day of sport season in the Florida Keys. Three people died in 2021 while participating in activities related to the mini-season. In 2014, a notable loss occurred when University of Miami Hurricanes walk-on football player Joey Grosso died off the coast of Pompano Beach while out with a group of people during mini-season. And 2008 and 2009 saw four deaths apiece, making them among the most deadly mini-seasons in South Florida.

Harris points out that the lobster mini-season is a time when many inexperienced divers take to the water.

"They often venture into areas where they are less familiar or fail to take the proper safe diving precautions, leading to accidents that result in injury or death," adds Harris, who encourages part-time divers participating in this year's spiny lobster frenzy to check out DAN's tips for staying safe during mini-season.

DeSantis' mini-season bonus day officially runs from 12:01 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 14.

The regularly scheduled 48-hour recreational Florida lobster mini-season begins at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24, and remains open until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, July 25.

Regulations for the sport season set forth by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) require that divers hold a valid recreational saltwater fishing license and lobster harvest stamp to take part. New Times has created this convenient guide that aims to answer other questions recreational divers might have.