How to Lobster Dive in Delaware

Diving for lobsters is a way to combine the adventure of scuba diving with the thrills of hunting, as well as a means of putting food on the table with your underwater sport. Lobsters are frequently encountered by divers on Delaware's reefs, wrecks and rocks, so turning an ordinary dive trip into a lobster hunt is just a matter of adding some more equipment and mastering some simple lobster-catching techniques.

Things You'll Need

  • Delaware fishing license
  • Tickle stick
  • Mesh bag
  • Measuring tool
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Instructions

    • 1

      Purchase a Delaware state fishing license before embarking on a lobster dive. You may apply online (see Resources) or in person through a licensing agent (many fishing shops are also licensing agents). Only the basic license is required for lobster diving.

    • 2

      Plan dive trips to places where lobsters are among the known inhabitants, such as the wreck of the Joseph E. Hooper. If you go on a boat dive through a charter or diving center, inquire if collecting lobsters is permitted on that trip. Lobsters are nocturnal, so your chances of catching lobsters out of their hiding places is much greater on night dives.

    • 3

      Patrol the dive site far enough above the reef, rocks or wreck to have full freedom of movement, but to also have a clear view of the cracks and crevasses beneath you.

    • 4

      Swoop down on any lobster you see in the open. Pin the lobster to the sea bottom by pressing down on the abdomen and tail with one hand.

    • 5

      Pursue the lobster into its hiding hole if it got away or was only peeking out. Push your tickle stick gently into the hole in an effort to scare the lobster out. If it emerges, immobilize it as described in Step 4.

    • 6

      Measure the lobster while it is pinned to the ground with the measuring tool. Lobsters must have a carapace (main body) at least 3 3/8 inches long to count as legal. You are only allowed two lobsters per dive in Delaware, so measure it and make sure it is legal before putting it in your mesh bag.