BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Spiny lobster mini-season is underway, running today and tomorrow. The mini-season always falls on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July, and it’s open to both Florida residents and out-of-state visitors.
According to the State of Florida in a statement to BocaNewsNow.com: The daily bag limit depends on location. In Monroe County and Biscayne National Park, divers can keep up to six lobsters per person, per day. Everywhere else in Florida, the limit doubles to 12 per person. On the water, possession limits match the daily bag limit exactly. Off the water, the rules shift slightly: possession is capped at the daily bag limit on July 29, then doubles on July 30 to account for two days’ worth of catch. Wildlife officers enforce those possession limits both on and off the water, so divers should keep careful count.
Every lobster harvested must meet the minimum size requirement — a carapace longer than 3 inches, measured while the lobster is still in the water. Divers are required to carry a measuring device at all times, and the state offers guidance on how to properly measure a spiny lobster. Night diving is banned in Monroe County for the duration of the mini-season, with diving defined as any swimming at or below the water’s surface. Harvest is also off-limits in several protected areas, including John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park during mini-season, and year-round in Everglades National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, no-take zones within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary, and the five Coral Reef Protection Areas in Biscayne National Park. Anyone with questions about no-take areas in the sanctuary can call 305-852-7717 or visit floridakeys.noaa.gov, while questions for the FWC Marathon office can be directed to 305-289-2320. More on Monroe County recreational harvest rules and spearfishing regulations is available through the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Divers also need to follow a long list of additional rules. Unless exempt, harvesters need both a recreational saltwater fishing license and a lobster permit. Lobsters must be brought in whole — separating the tail from the body on the water or in state waters is illegal. It’s also illegal to harvest or possess egg-bearing lobster of any kind, spiny, slipper or furry. Divers can’t use any device that would puncture, penetrate or crush a lobster’s shell or flesh, and recreational trapping is banned outright. Bag limits apply only to people who are properly licensed and actively harvesting — children or other bystanders who aren’t diving or licensed can’t be counted toward anyone’s limit. And harvesting lobster from a non-permitted artificial habitat is prohibited statewide.
