Lobster fishing on the Gulf Coast of the United States is in full gear after the Florida main season began August 6, 2024. Given its lengthy period ending March 31, 2025, the season is eliciting dive flag advisories similar to those from the outgoing mini-season.
A dive flag is a bright colored cloth that fishermen raise on a boat to indicate nearby scuba diving activity.
It warns other boatmen to keep off so as to avoid accidents when the diver is emerging with his haul.
Divers install flags on boats standing 300 feet from their “holes” in open waters and 100 feet away in channels.
These seasonal reminders underline the fact that during the mini-season’s bonus day on July 14, a boat hit a lobsterman. Though it was unclear if the injured was scuba diving, the Florida Keys’ incident was nevertheless enough warning for divers.
How Divers Catch Lobster
Diving is a professional method of looping lobster, where professionals wear pressure equipment to access shallow reefs.
Before they go down, lobstermen have to ascertain that the shallow reef abounds with the crustacean. To ascertain this, a diver goes underwater from a boat tow and if he finds enough shellfish, he removes the tow. He then descends freely in scuba gear to collect the lobster.
While spotting a lobster-rich corner is work enough, getting the crustaceans out of their rocky holes is difficult. Usually, the divers use “ticklesticks” that prompt the prey out of its hiding place. After the crustacean comes out, it gets into a “loop snare,” a trap that winds around its tail.
Luckily, most diving depths with lobster tend to be between 25 and 35 feet undersea, which facilitates accessible catches.
Before landing their catch, however, boatmen usually measure the shell carapace length, which should be a minimum 3 inches.
So, as the Florida main season gets underway, diver flag safety will guide those after “bugs” that hide in crags. And as the statistics below show, these divers are increasingly contributing to the total main season catches.
Florida Main Season Lobster Statistics
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, divers contribute a part of the main season’s landings. Since 1999 when commercial fishermen landed 7 million pounds of lobster in Florida via traps, divers have been increasing their contributions.
How do various coasts of Florida compare in production each main season?
The Florida government records that in 2022, the west coast landed 5.1 million pounds of spiny lobster worth $41.1 million. The east coast in its part landed 449,821 pounds of lobster worth $3.4 million.
What is the price of lobster in Florida during the main season?
The main season brings at least $7.67 a pound to east coast fishermen and $7.99 a pound to west coasters. These two averages represent the second highest price values of any seafood in the state after those of stone crab.