The annual Lobster Mini-Season opens up Florida's waters for a frenzied 48-hour period where tens of thousands of people put their lobster catching skills to the test and risk their lives for the ultimate prize. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officers Clinton Bean and Erik Steinmetz are partnered up for the event and quickly find themselves on a mission to rescue two vacationing couples from a sinking vessel. Meanwhile, Officer Janette Fernandez must put both her investigative talent and her patience to the test when she comes across three commercial lobstermen who have caught more lobster than they are allowed by law. However, it's not the violation that gets her fuming, it's the violators themselves. It's a busy day for Officer Fernandez when later she finds herself called to one of the unfortunate byproducts of 'lobster fever', becoming part of a team of law enforcement agencies trying to locate a missing scuba diver.
It's the FWC's job to protect the safety and well-being of both the state's citizens and its vast resources. On the outskirts of the Everglades, Lt. Bingham demonstrates this first-hand when he puts himself and his team in danger to catch a group of people feeding alligators. Down on the shores of the Florida Keys, Officer Izsak races her 26-foot vessel to rescue a stranded couple from the ocean... and each other. Later, Officer Erik Steinmetz's routine boat patrol leads him to an unexpected emergency when he comes across a sick loggerhead sea turtle floating in the middle of the ocean. He races to shore through some of the most dangerous channels and shallows the Keys have to offer in order to get this endangered species some much-needed medical attention. Operation Wild: about the show