Lobster Season 2026: What Divers Need to Know

Florida's spiny lobster season turns a lot of ordinary reef divers into hunters for a few months a year, and it's also one of the more heavily enforced fisheries in the state - FWC officers do check gauges and licenses in the water, not just at the dock. Here's what actually changes, and what to have sorted before you get in. When it's open The two-day sport season - Florida's unofficial "mini-season" - runs the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July, and it's by far the busiest, most crowded diving of the year on popular reefs. Regular season opens August 6 and runs through March 31, closing for the rest of the spring and summer to let the population recover and breed. Outside that window, harvesting spiny lobster in Florida is simply not legal, no matter how big one looks under a ledge. What FWC requires you to carry You need a Florida saltwater fishing license with a spiny lobster permit added to it before you harvest anything, and Monroe County (the Keys) requires its own additional permit specifically for the two-day sport season. Some residents qualify for license exemptions, but don't assume you're one of them - check your status on FWC's site before you go, since the license check happens in the water and "I didn't know I needed one" isn't a defense. The bag limit The standard recreational bag limit is 6 spiny lobster per person per day across most of the state, with different rules in specific management zones like Monroe County and Biscayne National Park. Limits and zone boundaries are exactly the kind of thing that gets adjusted, so confirm the current numbers on FWC's site for wherever you're actually diving rather than going on last year's rule of thumb. Measure every one, underwater, before it comes up Every lobster has to be measured in the water, before you remove it from the reef - carapace length has to clear the legal minimum, and an undersized lobster goes straight back exactly where you found it. Bring a real gauge, not a guess; wildlife officers check catches at the dock, and possessing an unmeasured or undersized lobster is a violation whether or not you meant to keep it. Egg-bearing females - easy to spot by the dark mass of eggs under the tail - are illegal to take at any size, any time. Most recreational gear rules also restrict you to hand, hand-held net or snare; spearing or gigging a lobster is not allowed for most divers. Charters built around the hunt A number of South Florida operators run trips built specifically for lobster season rather than treating it as an afterthought on a normal reef trip. Conch Republic in Key Largo, Dixie Divers out of Deerfield Beach, Jupiter Dive Center and Sea Experience in Fort Lauderdale all run trips built around the hunt during season. If you'd rather hunt than sightsee for the day, check an operator's schedule for a trip actually named for it - the boat, the sites and the other divers aboard are all oriented around bagging your limit, not admiring the reef. Bring your license, your permit, a gauge you actually trust, and know the limit for the water you're diving in before you leave the dock - the rules are enforced, and they're the whole reason there's still a season to look forward to next year.