by Garth Meyer
A total of 149 SCUBA and free divers turned in lobsters on opening day of the 2024 season, Sept. 27, for Dive N’ Surf’s 48th annual “Lobster Mobster” contest.
Prizes were given to the top three participants in each category.
SCUBA diver Dave Delamare brought in the largest lobster at 14.7 pounds while Jacob Street had the biggest for the free divers; 10.4 pounds.
Collection ran from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., with each person who turned in a lobster earning a T-shirt.
The competition is limited to hands-only fishing – no spear-fishing.
Lobsters come out more at night, thus the event’s hours, starting with the opening of the 2024-25 season at 6 p.m. last Friday.
“There’s going to be people hoop netting on kayaks, people coming in off the sand at Hermosa Beach, there’s going to be maniacs walking off the hill in P.V.,’” said Roger Carlson, harbor commissioner and veteran lobster fisherman, before heading out to SCUBA dive from his boat.
He and his two companions all caught their seven-lobster limit.
The California spiny lobster is a sought-after target for recreational and commercial fishing off the state’s coastline. Among the top locations for lobster taken in California during the 2023-24 season, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, King Harbor to Santa Monica ranked 10th, with 2.6% of the reported catch.
Catalina Island was the top spot at 14.9%.
Lobster season runs until mid-February. ER
PICTURES BELOW: Clockwise, from top; Robert Walls turns in a lobster late Friday night, opening day, Sept. 27 at Dive N’ Surf. Kayakers prepare to launch with hoop nets from the King Harbor hand launch, nearing the 6 p.m. start time to lobster season. Alex Stys, Dive N’ Surf dive manager, hands out “Lobster Mobster 2024” T-shirts to an arriving group Friday night. A throng of kayakers and other boats exited King Harbor Marina to start the season. Photos by Garth Meyer. At bottom, diver Jim Lyle scouts a secret spot Sept. 23, four days before the season opened, somewhere off of Palos Verdes. Photo by Roger Carlson
