No-take zones and local rules
A no-take zone is exactly what it sounds like: water where harvesting lobster (and usually everything else) is prohibited. They protect coral, breeding stock, and nursery habitat. The main ones in South Florida and the Keys:
- Sanctuary Preservation Areas (SPAs) and ecological reserves on the famous reefs (Molasses, French Reef, Looe Key, the Sambos, and many more).
- National parks: Everglades and Dry Tortugas are fully closed to harvest, and Biscayne National Park allows it only east of the islands, outside its sanctuary and Coral Reef Protection Areas.
- The Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary, a permanent no-take breeding refuge on the bay side.
- John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, which closes entirely to lobstering during the two-day mini-season.
- Unpermitted casitas and other artificial structures, where harvest is prohibited within at least 10 yards.
The specifics vary by area, too. During mini-season, bag limits drop from 12 to 6 lobster per person in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park. For the complete rundown, see the Florida lobstering rules and season dates; to find actual structure, start with our free lobster spots and coordinates.
In unincorporated Monroe County, no diving or snorkeling is allowed within 300 feet of a residential or commercial shoreline, canal, or marina. That runs the three days before mini-season, all of mini-season, and the first five days of the regular season, though you may still dive in front of your own property. It applies only to the unincorporated Keys near developed shoreline, not to open water offshore or to the incorporated cities, which set their own rules.
Key Colony Beach keeps the same 300-foot limit on a longer window: from four days before mini-season until ten days after the regular season opens.
Lobsterly lists both in the app's regulations section, so you can check them on the water. For the full text, see the Florida lobstering rules.
Frequently asked questions
Where can you lobster in Florida?
In open recreational saltwater across South Florida and the Keys, in season, with a license and spiny lobster permit, anywhere that's not a designated no-take zone. Most of the water is open; the map above shows the protected areas to avoid.
How do you know if a spot is a no-take zone?
Check a no-take zone map before you drop. The categories are listed above. The Lobsterly app shows every zone relative to your live GPS position, offline, which is the only reliable way to know on the water.
Can you lobster in Biscayne and Everglades National Parks?
Everglades and Dry Tortugas are closed to all lobster harvest. In Biscayne you can take lobster only east of the barrier islands, outside the sanctuary and the Coral Reef Protection Areas.