A  sperm whale that beached itself off Big Pine Key on Monday July 24th  and died Tuesday afternoon. Marine mammal experts underestimated the enormity of a sperm whale that washed ashore in on Big Pine Key's Spanish Harbor Channel on Monday. The initial estimate was 15 tons.

A partial necropsy conducted in the water after the whale died Tuesday afternoon showed the whale was 51 feet long and weighed between 20 and 22 tons, according to Celeste Weimer, stranding coordinator for the Florida Keys Marine Mammal Rescue Team.

Wildlife officials towed the carcass out to sea Wednesday. As with most mammal strandings, wildlife officials do not know what caused it to swim into shallow water about a quarter-mile east of Big Pine Key.

AND THEN

NOAA (That's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) was supposed to dispose of the dead Sperm whale by towing it out into the Gulfstream so it would be fed upon by sharks, decompose and sink before becoming a hazard. Aren't these NOAA folks suppose to know how our oceans work. They allowed it to be towed only 12 miles off the reef line of Big Pine Key. On August 2 the gulfstream was 22 miles off Big Pine Key. This about 18 miles past the reef line.

Although there is no guarantee about future events it is likely that the loss of so many lobster traps the last two seasons will result in more lobsters surviving and being available at a larger sizes.

Every fisherman knows that no two years are alike and that no one has been able to predict lobster or stone crab harvest from one year to the next. So, I am not so bold as to say how good the season will be, but early reports are encouraging. 

Iin a fully fished fishery, such as the lobster fisher, whenever fishing effort is reduce in one year it typically results in higher catch rates in the following year.

Hope you have made your reservations.

Click here for more information on Florida Keys Lobster.

The 2006 Nobel Prize for Architecture Design for Developers of Natural Treasures, last given to Lipra Solof, may go to Commissioner Nelson.

Read more here Keys Nobel

The median home price in South Florida ranges from $300,000 to $400,000.  In the Florida Keys this is the Lowest home values available and that is for older single wide mobile homes. This is chasing not only the average wage earners but also professionals such as teachers, police officers and health care workers.

Read about some solutions here Keys Losing Professionals as well as Service Employees.

Click here if you're looking for a Florida Keys Job.