MONROE COUNTY, Fla. – Florida residents will have an extra day all to themselves to go lobster hunting.
That’s according to an announcement by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was at Dockside Boot Key Harbor in Marathon Wednesday morning.
“I hope they have fun with that,” DeSantis said.
The 2024 recreational mini-season is scheduled for July 24th and 25th. But the newly-announced Florida residents-only day, which was declared by executive order, will be Sunday, July 14th.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the decision was made by the governor in conjunction with saltwater experts in the agency and gives Floridians a change to hunt for bugs on a weekend.
Jerome Young, head of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishing Association, told Local 10 he is concerned about harvesting lobster earlier in July when many females are still egg-bearing, and thought the decision was “reckless.”
“If the commercial fishing industry wanted to put our traps out one day early, we would have to go through the entire rule-making process,” Young said.
Several law enforcement sources expressed concern about the manpower needed to enforce the extra mini-season day.
For more information on the 2024 lobster mini-season, click here.