Every July the coastal areas of Florida attract large numbers of lobster hunters trying to get their share of this year’s bounty when the official mini lobster season kicks off. There are two Florida Lobster Seasons starting with a 2 day mini-season always held the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July. This year’s dates are July 29 – 30.
The regular 8-month lobster season is always August 6 through March 31. There are numerous ways and techniques to catch the Florida Spiny Lobster. Before you attempt to catch a Florida lobster, you need to understand their behavior. A Florida lobster typically travels forward by walking very slowly; however, when scared they flex their tail and jet backwards at a very high speed. In order to catch a Florida Lobster you will need gloves, a tickle stick, a measuring device and a net. Take your tickle stick and slide it behind the lobster. Once the tickle stick is behind the lobster, gently tap the lobster on its tail. This will cause the lobster to slowly walk forward. The best option is simply to try to trap the lobster between the ground and your net. Another method to catch the lobster is to tap it on the forehead, it will cause the lobster to quickly shoot back into your net. You need to quickly swoop the end of the net around so the lobster is trapped in the net.
Two important things to remember are that you cannot take a lobster that is not legal size or a female that is pregnant with eggs. If these Florida Lobster are caught they must be kept in the water and not removed.
The minimum size as outlined by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is established to monitor and control the Florida Lobster population. Each Lobster’s carapace must be larger than 3 inches. A lobster with a hard body measuring at least 3 inches would be 2-3 years old and old enough to have reproduced at least one season.
The Key West Lobsterfest
Every year Key West celebrates the opening of Lobster Season by throwing the biggest party of the summer. This year it is August 5 – 9. Thousands of lobster hunters travel to Key West for four fun days and nights.There are all types of events but the highlight is the Street Fair on Saturday, August 8, from 10:30 am to l2:30 am. The 100 to 500 blocks of Duval Street close to traffic and the entire area is a festival of arts, crafts, merchandise and lots of delicious Florida Lobster cooked in different ways. There’s the grilled lobster, lobster fritters, lobster salad, BBQ lobster and steamed lobster.
In addition to the street fair and concert, the other events include a Lobster Boil, Reef ’N Ritas, and a Pub Crawl. Scheduled acts for the concert include Just George, Fried Newt, Jordan Oaks and The DurtBags.
There are all types of drink specials being offered and 12 participating bars include: Sunset Tiki Bar, Hard Rock Cafe, Rooftop Cafe, Bagatelle, Lazy Gecko, Tattoos & Scars, Rick’s, Durty Harry’s, Smokin Tuna Saloon and Willie T’s.
Florida Lobster Tail Recipes
Steamed
Ingredients:
• 1 Florida lobster tail
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1/2 cup of dry white wine
Instructions:
Slip the tip of kitchen shears to cut the shell being careful not to cut meat. Place your hands on each side of the shell and push down until tail pops out of the shell. Rinse tails briefly under cold water.
Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large pot or deep skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and steam until meat is just opaque and very plump, 5 to 6 minutes; do not overcook or meat will get tough.
In another pan use garlic, butter and white wine to create a sauce to serve with the steamed lobster.
In the Oven or on the Grill
Cooking lobster tails can be simple and easy. This can be done with fresh or frozen lobster tails. If you are using frozen tails, be sure they are fully thawed before preparation.
Preheat oven to 350 F or grill medium high for 20 minutes.
Ingredients:
• 1 Florida lobster tail
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon fresh minced garlic
• 1 12×12 piece of heavy aluminum foil
Instructions:
Cut the tails lengthwise from top to bottom. Remove any sharp edges from the shell. Layout the 2 halves of the lobster tail on heavy aluminum foil. Generously cover with fresh minced garlic and butter.