Record-high prices boost Florida Keys spiny lobster season

Author: Associated Press
Published:
Courtesy of tomostyle/ MGN

MARATHON, Fla. (AP) – Florida Keys fishermen say record-high wholesale prices made for a good spiny lobster season.

The six-month harvest ended Tuesday. Tom Matthews of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute tells The Miami Herald (http://hrld.us/1ITwlgY ) that projections suggest a final commercial lobster harvest of 4.4 million pounds.

Last season’s harvest was 6.2 million pounds, but the per-pound price for spiny lobster was $8.65. Matthews says this year’s price per pound may hit $9.92, more than double the price paid a decade ago.

Bill Kelly of the Florida Keys Commercial Fisherman’s Association says the harvest might be low, but fewer fishermen are making the harvest than in the years before the recession.

Kelly says fishermen also benefited from a year without any viruses reducing lobster populations or tropical storms destroying fishing gear.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.