FWC officers, U.S. Navy air crew rescue three lobster divers in Florida Keys

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, with the help of a U.S. Navy helicopter crew, rescued three men who were diving while hunting for spiny lobsters in the Florida Keys on Wednesday, the agency said.

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The men were diving a reef off Duck Key, in the Middle Keys, when they became separated from their boat amid rough waters, FWC spokeswoman Arielle Callender said. It was the first day of the two-day lobster miniseason.

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FWC officers received a call that the men were missing around 11:45 a.m. and began searching for them, along with crews from U.S. Coast Guard Station Marathon and the Navy’s Key West-based search and rescue team, Callender said.

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The Navy helicopter crew located the divers at 12:12 p.m., floating about 2 nautical miles from where they went into the water, Callender said. FWC crews responded and brought the men and their gear onto their boat. After confirming they were not injured or in need of medical help, they drove them back to their vessel, Callender said.

“Every minute matters during a search on the water,” Capt. Adam Garrison, Monroe County area supervisor, said in a statement.“The seamless coordination between FWC, Coast Guard, and Navy Search and Rescue, along with the combined use of our marine and aviation assets, allowed a quick and safe resolution for these divers.”

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