Do you get lobsters in Key West?

Do you get lobsters in Key West?

This is a common question asked by everyone on a Key West tour. The answer is yes (but not really). You see

the lobsters here look a lot like lobsters but unlike true lobsters they have very long, thick, spiny antennae and

they don’t have claws. True lobsters have much smaller antennae. True lobsters also have claws on the first

three pairs of legs and the first claw is usually bigger. But for the sake of simplicity, we’ll refer to these

creatures of the Key West, as lobsters.

There are 2 kinds of lobsters found here. The Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and the spotted spiny

lobster (Panulirus guttatus).

Both species are crustaceans, related more closely to crabs, shrimp, and other. They live on the sea beds, and

like lobsters they too can use their tail to swim backwards and escape quickly. They eat snails, crabs, clams, 

and sea horses, and can live up to 15 years; and a full grown one can be a full three feet long. Now that’s a 

delicious treat at any Key West restaurant. Did you know that the commercial lobstering business of Key West is

worth over $5 million? Does that tempt you to stay back on your Key West tour, become a resident and start a

business?

Lobstering is regulated

Lobsters are harvested both commercially and for sport. So while you’re on your short Key West Tour, you can

have some fun too. You can even dive down and catch you own lobsters, as long as you keep to the regulations

What are these regulations?

First, you absolutely must carry a gauge for measuring lobsters and the measuring must be done when they are

in the water, not on land. If the lobster’s carapace is 3 inches or more you can keep it, otherwise you must leave

it back in the water to grow. You can separate the tails if the tail is more than 5.5 inches, but you must do this

on land. If you catch any egg bearing ones they absolutely must be released, as this is how the population is

maintained.

While diving you must display a ‘diver down’ flag – if, while you are out on the water, you see a ‘diver- down’,

slow down, and move away. You may ask the fishermen to show you their catch, some are friendly enough to

do so. Others don’t want to be disturbed.

The Bag limit is 6 per recreational harvester, per day. In sport season there is no diving at night (this is only in

the regular season). However, bully netting and hop netting are ok. Night is measured as 1 hour after sunset and

1 hour before sunset.

Finally, you absolutely MUST check the list of prohibited areas, and stay away from these areas.

A long queue of spiny lobsters

Diving for lobsters is a common pastime for anyone on a Key West tour. When you are diving down, or

snorkeling, look in the crevices of the reefs and rocks, you might find a spiny lobster or two. That’s their

favorite place. You can identify them by their brown to tan bodies which have occasional dark spots. Look

above the eyes, you’ll find sharp "horns" and a pair of long antennae. They range from 6inches to a full grown

2-3 feet. They come out in the open, to feed, at night.

Divers have claimed to see a long queue of spiny lobsters, one behind another, moving fast. It’s a rare sight but

it’s true, when spiny lobsters want to migrate (perhaps to new hunting grounds) they form such a queue. This

usually happens at night, as they are nocturnal creatures. They are also known to use the earth’s magnetic field

for navigation. The spiny lobsters live in groups and keep together by contact, using their long antennae.

When threatened, the spiny lobster makes a rasping sound. It does this by the base of its antennae against its

body. The frictional vibration makes a sound (like crickets do). Strangely, it has the ability to make this sound

even when it is mounting.

Spotted lobsters

Anotehr species you can see when you are on your Key West tour, is the spotted spiny lobster (Panulirus

guttatus) is smaller. Ranging from 5-8 when small, to a full-grown18 inches. It’s brown to dark purple body.

The upper portion of its legs are covered with white spots (spotted – lobster) on the lower segments, with

stripes. Like the spiny lobster, it too, lives in crevices between 6-75 feet deep and comes out to feed, in the

open, at night.

The spotted spiny lobster lives only on the coral reef and does not migrate like the spiny lobster sometime does.

There’s a lot of interesting activities for anyone on a Key West tour, diving for lobsters is just one of them.

More experienced dives dive for sunken treasure. There’s even an artificial reef with a shipwreck, in more

shallow waters, for less experienced divers. When planning your Key West tour, call us. We’ll make sure you

receive the best value for your money and we all know how vital that is in a recession.