During one of our typical afternoon sports talks, my brother Jason, who is a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officer, brought to my attention that the lobster mini-season was once again upon us and today marks the start of an influx of boaters. As a matter of fact, to help control the situation, Jason, who works out of Sarasota County, along with roughly two dozen other officers were reassigned for the week to the Keys.

In his second year of working mini-season, Jason told me that he really hopes to see a few things while patrolling this week.

"I just want people to be smart, responsible and respectful," said my younger not as good looking brother. "Those are the three things I'm looking for. Respect the area down here, remember people do live down here and just think about what you are doing."

Jason will be assigned to the upper Keys this week, not just the next two days, to assure all the rules are adhered to before the start of commercial season.

"Because this is such a big thing they have to bring officers in to help," he said. "We not only have to make sure nobody's doing anything illegal beforehand, but also after the season we have to keep an eye out because that's when the commercial fishermen are pulling their traps in."

Last year, Jason was assigned to the Miami region where he said the rules were altered. This season he said he is happy to be back patrolling the Keys, because he better understands the culture.

"I think there are a lot of differences," he explained. "There are different areas you have to learn, different rules and it was a bit of a shock working in Miami. I think I can do better in the Keys just because I can understand it better and it's a bit more laid back."

Despite returning to the Keys and the laid-back style, Jason still said he expects the worst knowing what has happened in the Keys during previous mini-seasons.

"We call it 'lobster crack,'" he said. "People come down in mini-season and they know they can only stay for two days, so really do get out of hand. When you have this many people from all over the nation coming down to go after the lobster and people don't know the waters, rules and conditions they really end up hurting themselves and others.

"Unfortunately it's expected to happen. With this job I don't find anything unusual and I work in a slow county. I expect to see plenty of strange things these next two days."

For those exact reasons, Jason said his main concern is protecting everybody that is out on the water.

"One of the biggest things is boater safety," he said. "The first thing we do is check for all the proper safety equipment. Seeing how every year it seems that somebody dies, we really want the rules followed during mini season. We really want to make sure everybody remains safe. Anything that might be endangering a life will result in us stopping you. Younger children should have life jackets on, don't bow ride and just use your common sense. There are the same rules on the water as there are on the road. Be smart about the alcohol on the vessels too, just overall know all your limits."

As for the inspection of the catch, Jason said that staying 300 yards offshore, bagging six bugs per person per day, three-inch crapes, no egg-bearing females, are some of the major rules he and his colleagues will be checking.

"All these rules are in place to make sure future generations will still be able to come out here and enjoy what we have and continue lobstering," he said. "With boater safety, unless they are acting in a wreckless manner it is a smaller infraction. Breaking any fishing regulations will result in a second-degree misdemeanor and a court date."

It was shocking for me to hear about how he was not shocked by many of the things that are attempted on the water during mini-season. It still seems strange that those that come down can go so crazy for what I can dive for most of the time during the year.

"Just be smart," he said about those going out. "I'd like to have a season where nobody gets hurt, but I'm sure something will happen. Think about where you're diving and boating, know your limit and size and it will make it better for everybody."

Staff Writer J.W. Cooke's Home Field Advantage column appears exclusively each Wednesday in The Citizen. He can be reached at 305-292-7777, Ext. 261, or at jwcooke@keysnews.com.