TCI Fisheries reports 13,000lbs of Lobster on Season Opening Day

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, August 5, 2023 – The Turks and Caicos’ luxury export is back in season as of Monday August 1st.  Lobster season is officially open and TCI fisherman took advantage from the get go as a massive 13,000 pounds were caught on the very first day, and that was just the Provo tally.

Victor Lewis was the big winner of the day with 2103 pounds followed by Leslie Amboise with 1,877 pounds.  The fisheries department says the turnout and excitement for the weighing was as high as usual for the reopening of lobster season.

“It is a big sport— like a big party as the boats roll in to measure their catch.”

The catch as usual was measured by the department of fisheries and marine resources with support from the department of environment and coastal resources.

Overall the fisherman abided by the rules with only one infraction against an egg-bearing lobster which the Department says it will investigate.

Egg bearing lobsters are not allowed to be caught; they’re usually marked and released back into the ocean.  Whether or not a lobster has eggs at the time of capture as long as it is marked it should not be brought into shore.

While we can report 15 fishing teams hauled in some 13,000 pounds in Providenciales this year; we wait for results from Grand Turk, North and Middle Caicos and the country’s fishing capital, South Caicos.