Best. Spiny. Lobster. Season. Ever.


By Jim “Chiefy” Mathie | chiefy@newpelican.com

I’ve been catching spiny lobster for over 35 years in South Florida and this season has been epic – the best Spiny Lobster Season ever.

I believe it’s a combination of things including the great diving conditions that have gotten a lot of folks out on the water. Boat sales are up and people are looking for ways to enjoy the outdoors. What better way than to take the family diving and fishing?

Pompano resident and Chiefy Crew member Christine Hawk with her limit of spiny lobster. [Jim Mathie]

Gary Thomas, former manager at the Pompano Force E Dive Center, believes it’s because folks “aren’t traveling now,” so local people are looking to enjoy the ocean. 

The Chiefy Crew got our double limit on both days of the lobster miniseason, which helped get things going for us recreational divers. The opening day of the regular season on Aug. 6 started with limits everyday but now we’re competing with the commercial lobstermen. 

The Chinese market has slowed down for them with the pandemic and the tariffs, so our seafood markets are filled with local spiny lobster. With the Chinese market out of the picture, it’s probably contributed to a slow down in the commercial harvest, allowing for more lobsters for the recreational divers.

Most of the commercial harvest is in the Florida Keys and mainly using traps. There are only a few commercial lobstermen in our area, some with traps and even a few divers who catch them by snares or nets and tickle sticks.  

The livewell is loaded with a limit of spiny lobster aboard Chiefy’s boat. [Jim Mathie]

We’ve had some brief tropical weather this past month, but just enough to move the lobster around and bring them into the shallow reefs. This past month the underwater conditions have been a warm 86 degrees with spectacular visibility and gentle currents.

A lot of my dive buddies are snorkeling a hundred yards off the beach and catching their limit of “bugs.” It doesn’t matter if it’s off Dania Beach, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea or Hillsboro Beach, this area has been a great location to catch lobster in shallow water. 

For most of the area from Dania Beach to Boca Raton, the shallow reefs of 30 to 45 feet have been holding clusters of lobster. When we see lobsters huddled together in a hole, that’s a sign they are on the move and heading into the very shallow reefs in ten feet of water. 

We leave the shallow reef areas to the beach divers because we have a boat and have been concentrating in the 30 to 45 foot range.

The Chiefy Crew has been diving for spiny lobster from Hallandale to Jupiter, all with the same results . . . a limit of lobster every dive day. It’s not just the Chiefy Crew but lots of recreational divers who have been getting their limit. They’re all saying the same thing: it’s been the best spiny lobster season ever. 

That’s over a solid month of great dive conditions and results.

The limit for recreational divers is six-per-person-per-day and all have a minimum carapace of three inches. Plus, you can’t take egg-bearing females, which helps with the long-term sustainability of the species. That, of course, helps with the long-term sustainability of lobster season.

I know we’ve got a long season ahead of us until the end on March 31, 2021, but right now it’s lobster, lobster, lobster.

A day’s limit of spiny lobster tails on the filet table. [Jim Mathie]

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