It looked like any normal Friday night at the ocean. Fish were feeding and moving from place to place. Waves were crashing on the shoreline, intersecting with buoys and break-walls. However, this night was different. The waves were pounding upon the sides of more boats and scuba divers than normal.
More than 200 men and women were readying themselves for the start of lobster season and the 35th annual Dive N’ Surf Lobster Mobster competition. At midnight, the lobsters were in for a change of pace.
“They will be slow tonight because they haven’t seen a light for six months,” said Bill Holzer, a 62-year-old retired electrician and a 35-year lobster fishing veteran. “They will be easy to grab tonight. After tonight they will know what’s up and it will be harder.”
Hovering above the newly legal bounty were fisherman and women from across the L.A area, itching to dive into the black water and rustle up some “bugs” (lobsters).
“If you were ever to go out, tonight would be the night,” Holzer said, remarking on opening night conditions.
To be able to hunt for the precious bugs, anglers 16 or older must have a sport fishing license, lobster report card and a net of some type to hold them. The lobsters must measure at least three and one fourth inches in length from the rear edge of the eye socket to the rear edge of the carapace, and the limit for each fisherman is seven lobsters per day in their possession. According to Commercial Fishing Digest, California Spiny lobsters differ from the generally seen Maine Lobster in many ways. Their nickname, “bugs” came about because of their particularly buggy appearance, with long antenna and no large front claws. Not much is known about the species; most baffling is the creature’s age. According to California Department of Fish and Game, it is estimated that most of the lobsters around regulation size are about seven years old, but because crustaceans molt, it is impossible to know for sure and it is thought that some of the larger lobsters could be 50 years old or more.
“You have to appreciate them for the fact that they are unique looking,” said Kristine Barsky, a senior marine biologist from the California Department of Fish and Game. “It’s just you against the lobster with your bare hands under the water. Whether you hunt to see and observe them or hunt them for dinner, it’s an amazing animal.”
