SD Lobster Map
About
What this site is
San Diego Lobster Map is an independent guide for recreational spiny lobster divers and hoop-netters, from Solana Beach to the Mexico border. It shows where taking lobster is allowed, how to get in at each spot, and what each spot is like.
It is not run by, or connected to, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) or any other government agency. The rules were last checked against official sources on Nov 12, 2026.
Disclaimer
Not legal advice. Rules, reserve boundaries and seasons change, so always check current CDFW regulations before you dive or fish. Spot information and conditions are provided as-is and may be wrong or out of date. Diving is dangerous: conditions shown are raw data, not a safety rating. You’re responsible for your own safety and for following the law.
Data credits
- Map: © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Marine Protected Area boundaries: California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
- Shoreline used to shade zones over water only: California county boundaries and the National Wetlands Inventory (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, via the San Francisco Estuary Institute's CARI), both hosted by CDFW.
- Rules and zones: CDFW, federal and city sources. See the Rules sources.
- Spot profiles: the dive guides and sources listed on each spot.
- Camera links name each camera's owner.
Conditions data (when live conditions are added)
- Tide data: NOAA Tides & Currents.
- Buoy data: NOAA National Data Buoy Center.
- Wave data: Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP), Scripps Institution of Oceanography. CDIP is primarily supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
- Forecasts and alerts: National Weather Service San Diego.
- Beach notices: County of San Diego DEHQ.
Privacy
- No accounts. There's nothing to sign up for, and the site never asks for your name or email.
- No advertising cookies. This site sets no cookies at all, and shows no ads.
- Visit counts. Vercel Analytics counts visits anonymously: which pages are opened, the site you came from, your country, and the kind of device and browser. It uses no cookies and doesn't identify you.
- The map. The map is drawn by Mapbox. Your browser loads it straight from Mapbox, so Mapbox receives your IP address and how you use the map (the areas you look at and zoom into). When you search for a place, the words you type go to Mapbox through this site. See Mapbox's privacy policy.
- Your location. It's used only in your browser, when you tap Locate me (and, once you've allowed it, to show how far away each spot is). It is never sent to this site.
- Saved in your browser. Only a random ID that Mapbox keeps to count map loads. It is not a cookie.
- Links out. Cameras, CDFW, Directions and the other sources open their own sites, which have their own privacy rules.
Contact and corrections
Spotted something wrong, or know a spot we're missing details for? Send a note to reports@sandiegolobstermap.com.