I cannot commit on the Florida lobster population but the California Lobster fishery has been in trouble for the past 25 possibly 30 years.
Since the beginning of recreational sport diving harvesting limit has been reduced from ten to seven, from a maximum size and a minimum size to the current measuring of 3-1/4 carapace length
The current minimal size limits established by F&G (Fish and Game) is based upon the sexual maturing of the lobster and a reproduction cycle of at least one time to create a sustained stable lobster population.
Therefore, the current lobster population would remain stable if each legal female produced, from the excess of 500,000 eggs it carries, a minimum of two lobsters that reached legal maturity within its lifetime.
As the lobster matures and increases in weight, the number of eggs it produces and carries also increases.
Therefore, a ten-pound lobster, which is estimated at fifteen to twenty or more years old, could carry in excess of one million eggs, producing at each mating season approximately four lobsters that will reach sexual maturity. A ten-pound lobster is a grand mother many times over and has probably mated ten or more seasons and could count perhaps a minimum of thirty or more mature lobsters as offspring. If the lobster remains in the wild, it can be expected to continue to grow and continue to increase its production of eggs many fold as long as it survives.
It would be appropriate and is suggested that the harvesting of all large lobsters be curtailed and especially the larger females to ensure a stable, possibly even a larger lobster population for the divers of the future.
By harvesting the large ones; males and especially the females the future of the lobster population can be seriously damaged. Capture them if it satisfies a need for the experience, take a picture and return to the wild immediately and the future of recreational lobster diving is assured
