Spiny Lobster Regulations in Florida (2026)

Recreational spiny lobster rules in Florida saltwater, as published by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Last checked November 7, 2026.

Limits differ by area — the summary below is the first published rule; see every rule underneath.

Size limit

3 in minimum

Bag limit

6 per person

Season

Spiny Lobster Sport Season: Season: July 28-29, 2027 (last…

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Recreational Spiny Lobster rules in Florida

Where: Monroe County and Biscayne National Park
Size limit: Minimum Size Limit: Carapace length must be larger than 3 inches, measured in the water.
Bag limit: Spiny Lobster Sport Season: Daily Bag Limit: 6 per person for Monroe County and Biscayne National Park; 12 per person for rest of Florida; Regular Spiny Lobster Season: Daily Bag Limit: 6 per person
Possession: Spiny Lobster Sport Season: Possession limit on the water: equal to the daily bag limit; Possession limit off the water: equal to the daily bag limit on July 29, 2026, and double the daily bag limit on July 30, 2026.; Possession limits are enforced on and off the water.; Regular Spiny Lobster Season: Possession limit on the water: Equal to the daily bag limit
Season: Spiny Lobster Sport Season: Season: July 28-29, 2027 (last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July each year, for residents and non-residents); Regular Spiny Lobster Season: Season: Aug. 6-March 31

Allowable Gear: Landing nets or dip nets, bullynets with a diameter not exceeding 3 feet, and hoop nets with a diameter not exceeding 10 feet.
Prohibited Gear: Any device that could puncture, penetrate, or crush the exoskeleton or flesh of the lobster, bleach or other chemical solution, artificial habitat, and traps.
Required Gear: Possession and use of a measuring device required at all times. Find out how to measure a spiny lobster.
Night Diving: Prohibited in Monroe County (ONLY during sport season). Diving is defined as swimming at or below the surface of the water.
Prohibited Areas: Harvest of lobster is prohibited in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park during the sport season. At all times, harvest of lobster is prohibited in Everglades National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, no-take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, in the Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary, and in the five Coral Reef Protection Areas in Biscayne National Park.
Regulations for Recreational Harvest and Lobster Information for Monroe County
Monroe County Spearfishing
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Call 305-852-7717 or visit http://floridakeys.noaa.gov for information about no take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Please call the FWC Marathon office at 305-289-2320.
Unless exempt, a recreational saltwater fishing license and a lobster permit are required to harvest spiny lobster
Lobster must be landed in whole condition. Separating the tail from the body is prohibited in state waters.
The harvest or possession of eggbearing spiny lobster, or any other eggbearing species of lobster belonging to the families Palinuridae (spiny lobsters), Scyllaridae (slipper lobsters) or Synaxidae (furry lobsters) is prohibited
No person shall harvest or attempt to harvest spiny lobster using any device which will or could puncture, penetrate or crush the exoskeleton (shell) or the flesh of the lobster
Recreational trapping prohibited
Regardless of what species you are fishing for, bag limits are only for properly licensed individuals and those people exempt from license requirements who are actively harvesting. People harvesting may not exceed their individual bag limit and take someone else's bag limit. That is, people (including children) who are not actively harvesting or are not properly licensed (if a license is required) may NOT be counted for purposes of bag limits.
Harvesting lobster from a non-permitted artificial habitat is prohibited in Florida

Official source

Where: Rest of Florida
Size limit: Minimum Size Limit: Carapace length must be larger than 3 inches, measured in the water.
Bag limit: Spiny Lobster Sport Season: Daily Bag Limit: 6 per person for Monroe County and Biscayne National Park; 12 per person for rest of Florida; Regular Spiny Lobster Season: Daily Bag Limit: 6 per person
Possession: Spiny Lobster Sport Season: Possession limit on the water: equal to the daily bag limit; Possession limit off the water: equal to the daily bag limit on July 29, 2026, and double the daily bag limit on July 30, 2026.; Possession limits are enforced on and off the water.; Regular Spiny Lobster Season: Possession limit on the water: Equal to the daily bag limit
Season: Spiny Lobster Sport Season: Season: July 28-29, 2027 (last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July each year, for residents and non-residents); Regular Spiny Lobster Season: Season: Aug. 6-March 31

Allowable Gear: Landing nets or dip nets, bullynets with a diameter not exceeding 3 feet, and hoop nets with a diameter not exceeding 10 feet.
Prohibited Gear: Any device that could puncture, penetrate, or crush the exoskeleton or flesh of the lobster, bleach or other chemical solution, artificial habitat, and traps.
Required Gear: Possession and use of a measuring device required at all times. Find out how to measure a spiny lobster.
Night Diving: Prohibited in Monroe County (ONLY during sport season). Diving is defined as swimming at or below the surface of the water.
Prohibited Areas: Harvest of lobster is prohibited in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park during the sport season. At all times, harvest of lobster is prohibited in Everglades National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, no-take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, in the Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary, and in the five Coral Reef Protection Areas in Biscayne National Park.
Regulations for Recreational Harvest and Lobster Information for Monroe County
Monroe County Spearfishing
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Call 305-852-7717 or visit http://floridakeys.noaa.gov for information about no take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Please call the FWC Marathon office at 305-289-2320.
Unless exempt, a recreational saltwater fishing license and a lobster permit are required to harvest spiny lobster
Lobster must be landed in whole condition. Separating the tail from the body is prohibited in state waters.
The harvest or possession of eggbearing spiny lobster, or any other eggbearing species of lobster belonging to the families Palinuridae (spiny lobsters), Scyllaridae (slipper lobsters) or Synaxidae (furry lobsters) is prohibited
No person shall harvest or attempt to harvest spiny lobster using any device which will or could puncture, penetrate or crush the exoskeleton (shell) or the flesh of the lobster
Recreational trapping prohibited
Regardless of what species you are fishing for, bag limits are only for properly licensed individuals and those people exempt from license requirements who are actively harvesting. People harvesting may not exceed their individual bag limit and take someone else's bag limit. That is, people (including children) who are not actively harvesting or are not properly licensed (if a license is required) may NOT be counted for purposes of bag limits.
Harvesting lobster from a non-permitted artificial habitat is prohibited in Florida

Official source

Commercial rules

Show 1 commercial rule

Where: Statewide
Size limit: Minimum Size Limit: Carapace larger than 3 inches; tails longer than 5 1/2 inches
Bag limit: Daily Bag Limit: Trap Fishery: None; Bully Net: 250 per vessel; Dive Fishery: 250 per vessel in state and federal waters off Broward, Dade, Monroe, Collier and Lee counties
Season: Season: Open Aug. 6-March 31

Allowable gear: by diving, traps, hand-held net, hoop net (diameter no longer than 10’), or bully net (diameter no larger than 3’).
License Requirements: An SPL with a Restricted Species (RS) and Crawfish (C#) or (CD# for commercial dive harvest) or (N# for bully net harvest) endorsement is required to commercially harvest and sell any spiny lobster.
Special regulations apply for traps and this species when in Biscayne National Park.
Traps may be baited and placed in the water beginning the Saturday after mini-season, but cannot be pulled for harvest until the season opens. Traps must be removed from the water by April 10 each year.
Traps may be worked during daylight hours only.
Traps may not be placed within 100 feet of the intercoastal waterway or any bridge or seawall.
Pulling another person's trap without the express written consent of the owner and FWC Law Enforcement is prohibited.
Harvest is prohibited in designated areas of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
A person aboard a vessel with a C# and trap certificates may harvest and possess while on the water 50 undersized spiny lobster (shorts) and one short per trap aboard the boat.
Shorts must be released alive and unharmed upon leaving trap lines (livewell specifications apply). The allowance for shorts applies to the trap fishery only and sale is prohibited.
250 lobster per day vessel limit applies in Broward, Dade, Monroe, Collier and Lee counties and adjoining federal waters.
Recreational bag limit applies when diving at night. Diving is defined as swimming at or below the surface of the water.
Divers must possess a carapace measuring device and measure lobster in the water.
The use of bleach or chemical solutions or simultaneous possession of spiny lobster and any plastic container capable of ejecting liquid is prohibited.
Harvest from artificial habitat is prohibited.
Divers must permanently and conspicuously display a "divers down flag" placard on the vessel and affix the CD# to the diagonal stripe with 10" numbers visible from the air and 4" numbers visible from the water.
Spiny lobster retained as an incidental bycatch in a net or trawl other than a hand-held net may not exceed five percent of the total whole weight of all species possessed (all license requirements apply).
Spiny lobster may only be sold by or purchased from persons who hold the required licenses and endorsements.
Federal permit required to possess "wrung" tails in or on state waters. Tails must be at least 5 ½ inches in length (not including muscle tissue).
Possession of undersized lobster prohibited, except as provided for in the Spiny Lobster Trap Fishery section. Undersized lobster may not be sold.
Possession of egg-bearing lobster prohibited.
Use of any device that could puncture or crush the lobster is prohibited.
Bully net endorsement (N#) is required.
250 lobster per vessel per day statewide.
Bully net commercial vessels must be marked with an endorsement number on both the port and starboard sides in reflective letters that are at least 4 inches tall.
Trap pullers are prohibited on commercial bully net vessels.
Cannot have both a bully net and underwater breathing apparatus on vessels used to harvest or transport lobster commercial purposes.
SPL + RS + C (trap) or CD (Dive) or N (Bully Net)
A Guide to Closed Areas for Commercial Spiny Lobster Trap Fishing
Special regulations apply for this species when in Biscayne National Park.
Allowable gear: by diving, traps, hand-held net, hoop net (diameter no longer than 10’), or bully net (diameter no larger than 3’).
Specific restrictions and requirements depend on the method of harvest.

Official source

Quick answers

What is the spiny lobster size limit in Florida?

Minimum Size Limit: Carapace length must be larger than 3 inches, measured in the water. (for the first listed area; other areas may differ — see above).

How many spiny lobster can I keep in Florida?

Spiny Lobster Sport Season: Daily Bag Limit: 6 per person for Monroe County and Biscayne National Park; 12 per person for rest of Florida; Regular Spiny Lobster Season: Daily Bag Limit: 6 per person (for the first listed area; other areas may differ — see above).

When is spiny lobster season in Florida?

Spiny Lobster Sport Season: Season: July 28-29, 2027 (last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July each year, for residents and non-residents); Regular Spiny Lobster Season: Season: Aug. 6-March 31. Whether it is open on a specific day can change by emergency rule — check today's status in the app.

Compare Spiny Lobster limits in other states →

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All Florida saltwater fishing regulations →

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Most anglers need a Florida saltwater license or registry: get one here.