The Florida Spiny Lobster

Abstract

The Florida Spiny Lobster tells what every crawfish hunter ought to know about his quarry, what equipment he’ll need, where to find them, and how to catch them. It also provides some tried and true recipes for those lucky lobster hunters who get some of these spiny delicacies as far as the kitchen. It also delves into the rules and regulations covering its capture and gives some common sense suggestions on how to safely manage the hunt.

In writing the section on the biology of the spiny lobster the author takes great care to keep everything within the grasp of the average reader. Unnecessary scientific terminology is avoided while making an effort to answer every question that is likely to be asked about the crawfish.

Every lobster hunter is likely to experience some kind of injury while seeking his prey. Fortunately, diving injuries are rarely serious. First aid for the most common minor injuries is covered in the last part of The Florida Spiny Lobster.

2008 Florida Publishers Association President's Book Award Finalist for Best Adult Book

About the Author

John Kappes arrived in Miami with his new wife, Annette, in 1960. He taught Biology and Marine Biology in the Miami-Dade County schools for more than 35 years, earning a Master’s Degree in Biology along the way. In the mid l960’s, he had his first encounter with the spiny lobster. He was immediately addicted to its delicious flavor and the study of its natural history.

A snorkeling and scuba diving enthusiast, John takes every opportunity to study and photograph the crawfish and its relatives in their natural habitats. His enthusiasm for diving has taken him to the wrecks of the Cayman Islands, the steep walls of Turks and Caicos, the kelp forests of Monterey, the warm waters of Cancun, the frigid waters of Vancouver Island, and the incomparable Great Barrier Reef of Australia, not to mention countless days spent diving off Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and the Florida Keys.

Now retired from teaching, John and Annette fill their time with traveling and shuttling back and forth between Miami and their home on Lower Matecumbe, in the Florida Keys.

Kappes has a son, John Jr., a recent Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology at the University of Florida and a daughter, Kathleen, the owner and operator of Rodbenders Bar and Grille in Cutler Bay, Florida. Three years ago his granddaughter, Candis, presented John with Dylan, a great-grandson, to whom this book is dedicated.