by Captain Chad Carney, Contributing Writer
Spiny lobster hunting season and the chance of viewing manatees will simultaneously end after March 31st. Early this February my girlfriend Elie and I encountered both species while freediving in the Lake Worth Lagoon.
At the surface in about 15 feet of blue high tide water, I saw long spiny lobster antennae protruding from a narrow culvert pipe. I thought it would be an easy tickle out and snare, but instead he walked out before I got down to him and shot across the sand flats with me in chase. This fairly large lobster disappeared into an expansive coral encrusted patch of natural lime rock with blow holes. After half a dozen dives, with my dive light in hand, I gave up the search and returned to the pipe, and there he was – what a crafty bugger! This time I made my dive as far out in front of the pipe, as I could barely still see it, and crept in slowly, while the bug backed slowly into the pipe. With my snare in retracted mode, I slid it in past him and began slight tickling (irritating) the crustacean. He walked close to the opening and I opened the snare loop behind him and quit all movement… he stepped back and I yanked the snare tight on his tail and pulled him out into my grasp! Lobster snares keep from breaking off antennae and legs, which does not happen with nets, so you can measure the lobster and if it’s short or has eggs, just return it to the reef undamaged. This guy was a nice sized bug for the ICW, measured ¾-inch over the 3-inch carapace minimum, and Mmmm what a tasty dinner!
Consult MyFWC.com for all the spiny lobster regulations.
On another winter day freediving, Elie and I came face to face with a mama manatee and her young calf out in front of our dock. Mama immediately started to turn away from us, so we slowly turned the opposite way and I made a slow super-smooth, splash-free dive to the bottom, facing the opposite direction. The young manatee followed me with his mama behind him, and he came up next to me, about an arms-length away, and stopped. I remained completely still until I felt the urge to breathe and eased up to the surface where Elie had been watching the encounter. After a minute or so the calf came up to breathe too and I slid back into the water face down, as he slipped in tail first. After watching each other on the bottom for another minute and a half, I was exhausted so I returned to the surface. We watched them for several more minutes before they slowly continued along their original path. Wow!
Remember, look but don’t touch manatees!
Also check out MyFWC.com for all the information and regulations about manatees.
Captain Chad Carney manages Florida Freedivers in North Palm Beach and can be reached at 561-848-0678 or email chad@floridafreedivers.com