The event, officially called the Spiny Lobster Sport Season but typically referred to as the Florida Lobster Mini-Season, runs through the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday each July — that's July 30-31, 2025. Mini-season precedes regular lobster season, which runs August 6 through March 31, when commercial fishermen are permitted to catch lobsters.
As with any gathering of boats in South Florida's warm waters, a touch of carelessness and a splash of alcohol are bound to be on board. And it's all fun and games until someone gets maimed by a boat propeller, which has happened for at least the past four years during Lobster Mini-Season.
So we beg you, please don't make us add you to this list.
2024
Monroe County Sheriff's Office reported that a boat propeller seriously injured a man's head, neck, arm, and shoulder, according to CBS News.2023
Divers on opening day in Biscayne Bay found a drowning man who later died at a local hospital; later that morning, a helicopter team had to airlift another man from Boca Chita Key after a Miami-Dade Police Department boat struck him, according to Local 10.2022
Two people died on the first day of mini-season in the Florida Keys, and a boat propeller sliced a man's leg in Biscayne Bay, according to WSVN 7 News.2021
Opening day brought two deaths in separate incidents west of Miami in Monroe County; a man lost consciousness at Sawyer Key, and a boat propeller struck another man, according to Local 10 News.Catherine Harris, research associate for fatality and injury monitoring for Divers Alert Network (DAN), previously told New Times that as many as 15 people were involved in fatal accidents related to mini-season dives between 2016 and 2022.
"We've had a reported average of as many as three to four fatal accidents each year and a lot more injuries — everything from shortness of breath to something more serious like being struck by a boat prop," says Harris, whose department monitors news and social media, as well as its member testimonials, to gather data.
In 2014, a notable loss occurred when University of Miami Hurricanes walk-on football player Joey Grosso died off the coast of Pompano Beach while out with a large group of people during mini-season. And 2008 and 2009 saw four deaths apiece, making them among the most deadly mini-seasons in South Florida.
Harris points out that the lobster mini-season is a time when many inexperienced divers take to the water.
"They often venture into areas where they are less familiar or fail to take the proper safe diving precautions, leading to accidents that result in injury or death," adds Harris, who encourages part-time divers participating in this year's spiny lobster frenzy to check out DAN's tips for staying safe during mini-season.
To participate in the sport season, divers must hold a valid recreational saltwater fishing license and a lobster harvest stamp, regulations set forth by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). New Times has created this convenient guide to answer other questions recreational divers might have.
