Florida Lobster Mini-Season Questions & Advise

[uncfnp]

Just one step.. Freeze the tails in water...

Thanks Scuba_Jenny. I thought that sealing them first (I have a Food Saver) might preserve some of the texture and flavor better and then freeze them in water and pack in dry ice for transport.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Awwwh.. that I don't know. I don't have a food sealer. Growing up, Mom always froze fish in water.

 

[iluvtheocean]

the food saver does work -- we've wrapped the tails in paper towels to avoid punctures and then vac sealed & froze them for share with family around here. Even a few months in the freezer still tastes good.

 

[mselenaous]

And so it begins...Lobster mini-season 2013: Coast Guard urges boaters to be safe

 

[Michael Alonso]

So ... I actually did end up joining the fun craziness, but I did it with my instructor. It seems that this year was rather tame, and I heard nobody anywhere got hurt, so that's good news. I'm glad everyone is safe. And yes, they were mighty delicious.

 

[mselenaous]

Glad you had some safe fun. Sadly, as predicted, not every diver did.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/461082-fl-keys-mini-season-fatality.html


Nor did some of them follow the rules:
Plenty of tickets, but no arrests this year - KeysNet.com

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-diving/460945-got-ticket-lobstering.html

---------- Post added July 26th, 2013 at 02:33 PM ----------

And another:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ac...151-another-florida-mini-season-accident.html

 

[herbdb]

We did twelve dives during the two day season with our LDS group. I have to admit that there was a lot of drama on the boat (happily not from our divers).

We saw two out of airs and a number of divers had to be towed back to the boat. I was really suprised. The conditions were challenging because of strong currents and divers were surfaceing too far away and behind the boat. Too much hunting and not enough navigation and air monitoring.

We thought it was a lot of fun and my son wants to do it again next year. It is certainly nothing to avoid as some have suggested.

 

[chrpai]

I've googled but can't find an answer.... can someone explain why/how there came to be a mini season? Regular season starts in a week, right?

Confused...

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

My understanding is that its an economic boom for the state. Supposedly it give recreational divers a shot at the lobster before the commercial season starts in August. It's not going away anytime soon. Too much $$$ changing hands in those two days...

 

[mselenaous]

... I have to admit that there was a lot of drama on the boat (happily not from our divers).

We saw two out of airs and a number of divers had to be towed back to the boat. I was really suprised. The conditions were challenging because of strong currents and divers were surfaceing too far away and behind the boat. Too much hunting and not enough navigation and air monitoring.

We thought it was a lot of fun and my son wants to do it again next year. It is certainly nothing to avoid as some have suggested.

That's exactly why I choose to avoid mini-season.
I've had several friends who complainted that they went out on their private boats and did everything right but had no control of the idiots driving boats above them with little to no regard for divers in the water.

But yes, it can be alot of fun with the right divers. That's why I usually wait for regular season.