Here are some interesting facts from the Florida
Marine Research Institute (FMRI) about the Spiny Lobster.
Spiny Lobster:
Commonly referred to as the Florida spiny lobster, the
Caribbean spiny lobster inhabits tropical and subtropical waters of the
Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Spiny lobsters get their
name from the forward-pointing spines that cover their bodies to help
protect them from predators. They vary in color from almost white to dark
red-orange. Two large, cream-colored spots on the top of the second
segment of the tail make spiny lobsters easy to identify. They have long
antennae over their eyes that they wave to scare off predators and smaller
antennae-like structures called antennules that sense movement and detect
chemicals in the water.
Adult spiny lobsters make their homes in the protected
crevices and caverns of coral reefs, sponge flats and other hard-bottomed
areas. The lobsters spawn from March through August and female lobsters
carry the bright orange eggs on their undersides until they turn brown and
hatch. Larvae can be carried for thousands of miles by currents until they
settle in shallow nearshore areas among seagrass and algae beds. They feed
on small snails and crabs. The lobsters are solitary until they reach the
juvenile stage, when they begin to congregate around protective habitat in
nearshore areas. As they begin to mature, spiny lobsters migrate from the
nursery areas to offshore reefs.
Lobsters stay in their dens during daylight hours to
avoid predators, emerging a couple of hours after dark to forage for food.
While lobsters will eat almost anything, their favorite diet consists
mostly of snails, clams, crabs and urchins. The lobsters return to the
safety of their dens several hours before sunrise.
The recreational fishery for the spiny lobster begins
in July with a two-day sport season. This season is the last consecutive
Wednesday and Thursday of July each year. The regular season opens August
6 and closes March 31. All recreational harvesters of spiny lobsters must
possess a valid saltwater fishing license and a crawfish stamp. Spiny
lobster is a regulated species and harvest is limited to lobsters with a
carapace over three inches in length. The animal must be measured while
still in the water. Females carrying eggs are not to be harvested.
Recreational harvest during the two-day sport season in Monroe County is
limited to six lobsters per person per day. Night diving for spiny
lobsters in Monroe County during the sport season is prohibited. John
Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Monroe County is closed to spiny
lobster harvest during the two-day sport season. Recreational harvest
outside of Monroe County during the two-day sport season is limited to 12
lobsters per person per day. Recreational harvest during the regular
season is limited to six lobsters per person or 24 per boat, whichever is
greater. Spearing lobsters is never allowed.
It takes a spiny lobster about two years to grow to the
three-inch carapace legal-harvesting size and they can grow as large as 15
pounds. The typical recreational harvest is 1.5 to 2 million pounds
between the start of the two-day sport season and Labor Day. The
commercial harvest averages 6 million pounds per season, with an average
annual value of $20 million. Measured in dollars, the spiny lobster
fishery is the largest commercial fishery in Florida.
Parts of a Spiny Lobster
Abdomen the "tail" of the lobster; includes
the large tail muscle covered with a segmented shell, the seimmewrettes,
telson and uropod. Antennae the very long, whip-like structures attached
just below the eyes. Antennules much smaller than the antennae, thin and
flexible, these extend forward from under the eyes. Berry a female
lobsters carrying eggs under the tail is "in berry." Carapace
the hard shell covering the cephalothorax. Dactyl the last segment of a
walking leg farthest from body; typically short and pointed. Larvae
independent early stage of an animal, typically very tiny and bearing no
resemblance to the adult. Mandibles the thick crushing "teeth"
portion of the mouth. Phyllosome the tiny, ocean-going lobster larvae that
have hatched from eggs. Pleopods swimmerettes Puerulus a specialized
larvae between the phyllosome stage and juvenile lobsters that lack mouth
parts and swim from offshore areas to shallow nursery areas. Tailfan made
up of the uropods and telson, this is the fan shaped structure at the end
of the tail. Telson the central part of the tailfan, somewhat rectangular
in shape. Thorax the central part of the body to which the walking legs
are attached. Uropods the outer triangular shaped ections of the tailfan;
lobsters have two sections on either side of the telson.
