Will lobster miniseason be canceled in the Keys due to COVID? Leaders to meet on issue
Monroe County’s mayor has called an emergency commission meeting for 9 a.m. Tuesday to consider adding new restrictions as the number of COVID-19 cases rise in the Florida Keys.
One pressing issue: whether to ask the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to cancel spiny lobster miniseason nine days before it is scheduled to start.
“We need to do everything possible we can to prevent people from congregating in crowds,” said County Mayor Heather Carruthers, of Key West. “I don’t know what my other commissioners are going to say. We’ve had this conversation before.”
Monroe County on Monday reported 35 additional cases of the novel coronavirus and no new deaths. The Florida Keys now have 894 confirmed cases and six deaths.
On June 1, when the county took down its checkpoints at the entrances to the Keys in an effort to keep out tourists, the Keys had a total of 108 cases. The two checkpoints had been in place since March 27.
Recently, Carruthers had said the majority of Keys leaders she had met were not interested in asking the state to cancel miniseason.
Things have changed as the number of COVID-19 cases is rising, Carruthers said.
Miniseason is a two-day event at the end of every July that gives recreational anglers a shot at getting their bag limit before regular lobster season opens.
The regular eight-month season opens Aug. 6.
Commissioner Craig Cates opposes trying to cancel miniseason.
“I haven’t supported that idea from the start,” Cates said. “If we’re going to have a season, we have to have an opening day. If nothing else, it’s too late.”
People have already rented houses and hotel rooms and made plans to hit the water, Cates said.
Miniseason this year in Florida is July 29-30.
The state started miniseason in the 1970s to help ease crowding on the water as people came out to compete for the spiny lobster at the same time the commercial season had started.
“It was dangerous and crazy,” said Cates, a Key West native. “They started miniseason to take pressure off it. It’s one of the safest events we have down here because everyone’s down on the water. It’s much safer out in the fresh air. I don’t see the logic.”
The five-member commission will also discuss “protective measures” as they relate to boat ramps and Monroe’s vacation rental plan.
For information on how to join Tuesday morning’s Zoom meeting, visit the county’s website.
To call into the meeting, dial 1-646-518-9805 or 1-669-900-6833. The webinar identification code is 912 0538 9822.
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 11:06 AM.
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