First thing: I love free-diving. I love diving for my own food. When the season arrives, I love free-diving for California Spiny lobster.
Second thing: I am not a fan of increased regulation on many things, but when it comes to responsible hunting and fishing, I think regulation is absolutely an imperative.
While the current size minimum size limit regulation of a minimum 3 1/4" carapice is sufficient for the lower limit, I argue that a new, maximum size limit regulation should be considered in order to protect older lobsters who generate more offspring. The coupling of both a lower-size limit and upper-size limit is also known as a "slot limit".
Below I outline the argument for a slot limit regulation.
Current regulations
The current basic regulations for spiny lobster in California are as follows:
• Can be taken only during lobster season.
• Can be taken by hand or hoop net only.
• Limit 7 per day / in possession.
• Size Limit: 3 1/4" carapice size minimum.
The biological argument for an additional upper-size limit
• Mature females of minimum legal size produce around 100,000 eggs
• Female lobsters with a carapice over 6 inches produce close to a million eggs.
*Source: Barsky, California Lobster Diving.
The practical argument for an additional upper-size limit
Among divers, there has been a long-time drive to return "bull" lobsters when they are caught. The reasoning typically is:
• Bull lobsters don't taste good (the meat is too tough).
• They really don't have many natural predators.
• Commercial fisherman typically have a hard time selling them.
Many hoop netters, who typically fish around breakwaters where diving is otherwise difficult, obtain bull lobsters and keep them.
Commercial fishermen, who use lobster traps, have no regulation on the funnel size of their traps. However, since they typically can't sell the bull lobsters, they are typically released.
Mike Feldman, president of UnrealFind.com / House of Scuba in San Diego notes the relative ease of such a regulation:
This is something they should have implemented years ago, in my opinion. Such an easy thing to apply. They've done it with some fish species, which is a LOT harder to effectively implement because when a fish is caught, it causes a lot more trauma to measure it and then release it. I think there are even some fish that you are able to spear that have both a lower and upper limit. With Lobster, you catch them by hand with little or no harm, measure, and release.
Conclusion
Given the above, it would seem that this would be a good law to put into effect in order to protect the sport and ensure good population numbers for the future. At minimum, I feel the large females should be protected simply for the large number of offspring they produce.
Personally, I release any lobster over with a carapice of 5 inches or more. I do not know if this is a good place to draw the line, but in addition to the above practical arguments, on a personal level when I come across a creature that old, big and rare - I simply feel it is too awesome not to return back to the water.
On July 31, 2009, the California Department of Fish and Game announced that they are in the exploratory phase of a possible Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for California Spiny Lobster. While the main challenge to this plan appears to be Califonia's State budget crisis, I would argue that the plan could be more than funded by drastically increasing violation fees for lobster poachers (be they taking lobster out of season, by illegal method of take, or taking undersize lobster). In any event, a slot limit for lobster - something that I feel just makes sense - should be considered in any such FMP.
Those interested in supporting or assisting with the FMP can write or call:
Ms. Kristine Barsky, Senior Biologist
2419 Harbor Blvd., #149
Ventura, CA 93001
(805) 985-3114