Mini-Lobster Season

Today, July 28th was the first day of the mini-lobster season here in Florida.

The pictures highlight the ending for one unlucky lobster--left dead on the beach after having its tail removed.

Spiny lobsters do not have claws like Maine lobsters do, but their tails are every as bit good to eat.

The ocean was alive today with boats, snorkelers, and divers looking for lobsters as private citizens get two days before the opening of the commercial lobster season.

We met a guy on the beach today who had a lobster in his bag and saw one out on the reef as we were snorkeling earlier in the day. If I had not destroyed my underwater camera I would have taken a picture of it--but alas, my camera suffered from unplanned exposure to sea water when the housing failed for some unknown reason.

I hate seeing the results of this type of harvesting--half a lobster washed up on the beach. I love to eat lobster, but seeing this really caused me to question why I continue to eat lobster since we use only a small portion of the total animal.

But, that is just the way it is--having a season protects them so they can reproduce and we do not take the species to extinction in over harvesting.

Usually, we hear of four or five divers who die lobstering--and those numbers aren't available yet.

But--it is a season like deer season in Pennsylvania and trout season in New York.

Lots of people took the day off from work to go hunting lobster.

I just wanted to take pictures of them--

But fish are food, not friends.