Commotion in the ocean.
His air hose broke!
Lots of troubles.
Lots of bubbles.
He was in a jam!
‘Was in a giant clam!!!
Rock Lobster, The B-52s
By Randall Grantham
I read in the news about a guy getting sentenced to almost two years in jail for having undersized lobster. They cut his son/co-defendant a break and “only” gave him 18 months in the Monroe County Jail for participating in the great lobster heist.
Being a fifth-generation Floridian and an avid hunter and fisher, I will admit that, at first blush, I thought the sentence a little harsh. I mean who among us hasn’t at least considered taking home a 21.5-inch grouper? Or sliding a few extra redfish under the ice?
We call it the “Cracker Exemption,” and by that we mean that the laws might not always apply equally to tourist and native alike when it comes to feeding your family. Admittedly, in today’s times, I, and most of us, do not need to bend the rules to eat a meal. And let me just say categorically, right now, on the record, that I have never done any such thing.
Then, when I looked at the rest of the article about the lobster mobsters, I saw that they had 277 undersized wrung lobster tails and therefore knew what they were doing. Especially when Johnny Law saw them toss the box containing their catch overboard and try to flee.
Clearly, they were in the wrong and were abusing the resource. But they’re not the first lobster mobster and maybe their sentence will make the original mobster feel better about his punishment.
The original Lobster Mobster, way before the Little Mermaid used the term, is Ray Odor. He is 80-plus years old, started diving in the 1940s and is a local legend. His love of the underwater began in 1946 when he swam in Weekie Wachee Spring, again, way before it was commercialized and made into a park.
Swimming there during his first furlough from the army, his brother had him put on a mask and watch when a pretty girl dove from the 15-foot tower. As her halter-top came down, freeing the puppies, he swore an allegiance to the depths.
He had to invent his own gear based on trial and error and a book by some guy named “Jock” Cousteau and, in 1958, he opened the first commercial skindiving shop in the area. The term SCUBA had not yet gained popularity.
He still dives and spear fishes (and sells his own line of accessories) and you can read all about him at www.spearfishing.cc. But the reason I write about him here, is that he served a stint, himself, in the Monroe County Jail for illegal lobster. Although I think he had too many as opposed to too small, he too got busted.
According to his rap song that you can listen to on his website, he is the original Lobster Mobster. He was lobstering in the Keys and they caught him and put him in the pokey. He ended up doing 38 days, but they also forfeited his brand new SUV and converted it to a Florida Marine Patrol vehicle.
Talk about adding insult to injury. The next year an FMP officer was having breakfast with a group of Ray’s diving buddies from this area. When the cop found out they were from Tampa and then, that they were Ray’s friends, he took great pleasure in pointing out that the black government vehicle parked outside used to be red. It was Ray’s truck!
Ray doesn’t go down to the Keys anymore. But, as I said, he still dives and he manufactures spearfishing equipment.
He also lives about five blocks from my house and when I met him the other night, he had some stories to tell and some artifacts and seashells to show. His wife, Shirley, told us he could go on all night and I’m sure he could. But after talking to him for a few hours, I got excited and wanted to get home so I could rest up for a dive the next day to get some (legal) dinner with my new stuff.
Randall C. Grantham is a lifelong resident of Lutz who practices law from his offices on Dale Mabry Highway. He can be reached at . Copyright 2010 RCG. To comment on this or anything else, email the editor at and for past columns go to lakerlutznews.com.
