2011 Mini-Season for Lobster

[Jax]

One


Lobster Diver Dies During Mini-Season
Massachusetts Man Found Unresponsive

POSTED: Wednesday, July 27, 2011
UPDATED: 11:40 am EDT July 27, 2011

TAVERNIER, Fla. -- A 54-year-old man from Massachusetts died while diving for lobster off the upper keys Wednesday morning.

Mark Fountain was diving off a private vessel with his 34-year-old son and his son's girlfriend near Tavernier when they became separated in the water, officials said.

The son told police officers when he returned to the boat he saw his father floating on the surface a short distance away, unresponsive.

The U.S. Coast Guard escorted them to Tavernier Creek Marina where they were met by paramedics.

Fountain was pronounced dead a short time later.

It's been a busy first day of lobster mini-season.

As of 11 a.m., Monroe County Sheriff's deputies had made 12 vessel stops and handed out 17 marine violations.

In Miami-Dade County, Florida Fish and Wildlife officers handed out six citations for undersized lobsters or going over the daily limit.

 

[Jax]

1 Dead, 1 Missing In 1st Day Of Lobster Mini-Season
Massachusetts Man Found Unresponsive

POSTED: Wednesday, July 27, 2011
UPDATED: 12:33 pm EDT July 27, 2011

TAVERNIER, Fla. -- One person died and another was reported missing in two incidents in the first 12 hours of the lobster mini-season Wednesday.

A man died in an incident in the Florida Keys. Mark Fountain, 54, of Massachusetts, was diving for lobster off a private vessel with his 34-year-old son and his son's girlfriend near Tavernier when they became separated in the water, officials said.

The son told police officers when he returned to the boat he saw his father floating on the surface a short distance away, unresponsive.

The U.S. Coast Guard escorted them to Tavernier Creek Marina where they were met by paramedics.

Fountain was pronounced dead a short time later.

Another boater was reported missing off the coast of Pompano Beach in Broward County. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue said a group of men abandoned their dive spot and returned to shore to get help after their friend failed to surface from a dive around 11 a.m. just south of Pompano Pier. The search continues for the diver.

Two men also had to be rescued from an overturned boat off Miami at Bear Cut near Key Biscayne. The men apparently were diving for lobster. They were uninjured, and they were taken to Fisher Island.

It's been a busy first day of lobster mini-season. As of 11 a.m., Monroe County Sheriff's deputies had made 12 vessel stops and handed out 17 marine violations.

In Miami-Dade County, Florida Fish and Wildlife officers handed out six citations for undersized lobsters or going over the daily limit.

 

[reefman]

winds were 18-20kts @ mlrf1 @ 0900 this morning, about 2.5 miles from snapper ledge(the site of the incident). it was ugly out there and the viz was dreadfull. there's also a diver missing off pompano beach,,,,,,,,

reefman
key largo

 

[fjpatrum]

Holy Hell, I thought all the posts about "bunch of deaths around mini-season" were a bit of a stretch. Why is it so common? Divers out of practice? Going OOA? Getting hung up and OOA? Something else? What is it?

 

[Jax]

Holy Hell, I thought all the posts about "bunch of deaths around mini-season" were a bit of a stretch. Why is it so common? Divers out of practice? Going OOA? Getting hung up and OOA? Something else? What is it?

A bunch of people who haven't dived in a long time, go out on water the night before, suck down beer while they wait until midnight, to jump in the water to chase lobster . . .

Not rested . . .
Probably haven't practiced skills in a coon's age
Probably aren't paying attention to gas 'cause they're on a lobster
Probably aren't paying attention to their buddy 'cause they're on a lobster
Probably haven't had a good physical in recent memory
Probably are overweight and/or out of shape

Sound like a recipe for disaster?

 

[Jax]

First guy didn't make it past 3 hours: Massachusetts man dies diving early in lobster season

A 54-year-old man from Massachusetts died while diving for lobster off the Upper Keys less than three hours after the two-day lobster mini-season started Wednesday morning.

According to Detective Mark Coleman from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Mark Fountain of Montgomery, Mass., was an experienced diver on a private 23-foot Hydrasport boat with his 34-year-old son and his son's girlfriend.

They were scuba diving on the oceanside of Tavernier, at Snapper Ledge, when they became separated in the water. The son told officers he got into the boat and then picked up his girlfriend; they spotted the father a distance away, but when they reached him, they realized he was floating, unresponsive. They pulled him into the boat and called for help, then headed to shore.

A U.S. Coast Guard crew from Islamorada met them en route and escorted them into the Tavernier Creek Marina, where paramedics met them. Fountain was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at the dock at 9:40 a.m. An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of his death.

 

[Insta-Gator]

The best place to spend mini-season is Joe's Stone Crab

Stone crab is way better than lobster anyway, IMO.

 

[fjpatrum]

I was seriously considering making a trip down for the mini-season but decided against it in favor of some other birthday options. Seems like it might be a bit crowded on boats and such though it sounds like a lot of folks are diving off private boats...

Sad to see the deaths over something so silly as a lobster.

 

[down4fun]

It is sad and needless. People don't check there gear, they pull something off the shelf that has been sitting there since last years mini season, jump in, sometimes with there air off. It's mostly a bunch of silly mistakes. There's a group of us who have been called morbid but we guess at how many will die each year. In two days somewhere between 3-7 people will die making simple, shallow dives.

 

[Jax]

Yes. Diving isn't dangerous, but stupidity while diving is . . . .