It’s mating season for horseshoe crabs, who do it on the beach and don’t mind being watched, photographed and televised. The state of Florida even encourages us to shoot pix, make notes and report all the details to the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

Wherever you find a mating pair, you’re liable also to find a small crowd of more crabs — spectators. Right, you wouldn’t hold still for any of that, but it’s a crab thing.

The best days for watching them are during the new moon and full moon, which happen this month on Thursday April 7 and Friday April 22. High tide is the best time.

Joining the horseshoe crab survey isn’t merely a matter of calling up the Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) Commission and saying, “Hey, horseshoe crabs are mating on the nude beach. Hurry!”

That would get their attention, but this is about scientific research. Careful observations have to be made according to meticulous scientific standards, just as marine biologists would do it.

If you get involved, you’ll be expected to take in and report the whole scene — how many pairs of crabs are mating, how many are spectators, how many are adults and how many are juveniles. The juveniles are four inches across or smaller so you’ll need a ruler to be sure you get it right.

Also necessary: date, time, location, habitat type and environmental conditions — such as tides and moon phase — for each sighting you report.

Why this matters: Horseshoe crabs are important natural resources. Migrating birds feed on the eggs. Pharmaceutical companies use crab blood to keep drugs and vaccines free of bacteria. The crabs also are used in cancer research.

Still interested? Go online to MyFWC.com and enter “FWRI horseshoe crab” in the search box. The first item on the ensuing list will take you where you need to go. Links there include a copy of the survey form to download and other info you’ll need. Don’t forget sunscreen.

Fishing classes

Fishing-doers who want to learn Biscayne National Park shouldn’t miss one of the park’s free three-and-a-half-hour fishing classes, presented on four Wednesday nights this year, beginning April 6.

For most of the local population, the class location is much more convenient than Biscayne’s visitor center 9 miles east of Homestead. It’s at Sunniland Park, with the misleading address of 12855 Pinecrest Parkway— a road best known as South Dixie Highway or U.S. 1.

 The park is on the east side of the highway at SW 128th Street. The class hours are 6 to 9 p.m.

The instructors are first rate: Capt. Gil Muratori, a longtime local guide and Biscayne volunteer who knows the park’s waters better than any of its staff; park biologist Vanessa McDonough and fishery scientist Steve Saul.

In English and Spanish, you’ll get advice on fishing tackle and techniques, equipment maintenance and fishing the park’s waters with an emphasis on how protecting its fragile natural resources will improve fishing. It’s a good opportunity too for learning how to cope with the no-fishing zone that’s due to be imposed over a large portion of the offshore reefs.

You’ll also get free fish ID charts and other materials.

The classes have been given since 2007, with about 1,200 participants. Reserve your spot in advance by calling 305-230-1144 (x036) or e-mail fishingclass@yahoo.com.

SeaKeeper award

The International SeaKeepers Society, which gets yachting people directly involved in ocean research and conservation, is giving its annual SeaKeeper Award to one of its founders, Alexander W. Dreyfoos.

Dreyfoos is well known as an inventor and manufacturer of electronic photo technology, particularly for movie-making, and as a diver-photographer whose published works include A Photographic Odyssey: Around the World with Alexander W. Dreyfoos, published last year.

His award will be presented Oct. 8 in Palm Beach.

Lionfish targeted

Florida’s relentless war of resistance to the lionfish invasion continues with the fish’s newly awarded qualification for state sport records. Hook and line catches are possible but The Big One is more likely to be speared by a diver like Capt. Jimmy Nelson, an Islamorada fishing guide.

Nelson captured the state’s biggest lionfish yet, an 18.78-incher (477 millimeters) whose weight wasn’t recorded. He stuck it and boated it last year on May 21.

The International Game Fish Association’s record database lists two hook and line catches. Mike Murias, a Miami charter boat captain, got the first one on Sept. 7, 2013, while bottom fishing for snapper with a pilchard for bait. It weighed 1 pound, 10 ounces, and was 15.5 inches long.

Jason Jones of Gulfport, Miss., beat that by one ounce with a shorter lion, 15.2 inches, caught on cut blue runner near an offshore oil rig on Feb. 7, 2015. State record qualifications are a little fussy. The rules are kind of fussy. You have to apply with a photo that shows the fish lying flat on a metric ruler so its length can be easily verified. Be sure to read the application form carefully before submitting your catch. Look up the details online at MyFWC.com/lionfish.

Spawning season protected

You won’t be able to lower an anchor and fish the bottom at the Warsaw Hole any more once government formalities are finished. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council in March approved a zone of 3.6 square miles to protect spawning sessions at the deep site about 35 miles south of Key West.

This closure and four others off the coasts of Georgia and both Carolinas are meant to boost snapper and grouper spawning areas by banning bottom fishing in the depths where the fish are known to spawn predictably.

Those actions have been in the works for a few years while scientific data and input from the public and the states were collected and considered. The restricted area over the Warsaw Hole originally was designated as one mile square, but Florida objected that it wasn’t sufficient.

Surface fishing and trolling shallow baits through the Warsaw Hole won’t be affected by the regulations. They are intended only to exclude the bottom species, which are easy pickings at spawning times.

Final approval will be made by whoever is U.S. Secretary of Commerce when the decision is made.