Diving for lobster in Florida's upcoming mini-season can be deadly, warns a leading dive-safety organization.</p><p>"Divers get excited and rush to dive without preparation, and most of them are out of shape," said Petar Denoble, a physician who serves as senior research director for the Divers Alert Network.</p><p>"They underestimate the level of exercise required for diving, particularly lobster diving," said Denoble, author of a recent report published in DAN's Alert Diver magazine.</p><p>The past four years have seen 14 divers die during Florida's annual two-day mini-season -- 10 of them in Florida Keys waters, the leading destination for lobster hunters.</p><p>In contrast, only six divers died while hunting lobster statewide in the regular eight-month lobster season in the same 2005-08 period.</p><p>This year's lobster sport-diving season arrives July 29 and 30.</p><p>"Why the higher percentage of deaths in the two-day preseason? Our best guess is that mini-season may be the time many divers take their first plunge of the year," Denoble wrote. "Or they've made relatively few dives thus far and haven't gotten up to speed on their skills and conditioning.... The underwater chase, frequent ascents and many repetitive dives over the two-day season can take a toll, even on the most experienced divers."</p><p>He pointed out that most of the mini-season deaths can be traced to heart problems in divers in their late 40s and older.</p><p>There was no evidence that air embolisms, typically responsible for about a third of all diving deaths, caused any of the 20 lobster-related deaths that DAN staff studied. Denoble called that finding "interesting," but cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from the relatively small number of case studies.</p><p>After three divers died in Monroe County waters during the 2005 mini-season, authorities called for increased caution. All three were out-of-county residents; the youngest was 49.</p><p>But the 2006 season was even deadlier, with four fatalities.</p><p>There were two lobster diving deaths in the Keys last year, after one death in 2007.</p><p>Many of the deaths could be linked to those with known medical problems, or who had undiagnosed conditions.</p><p>A lobster-season safety campaign was launched this spring to warn divers to check their equipment and be aware of physical demands. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association and DAN prepared the program.</p><p>"People who live a sedentary lifestyle must assume they are out of shape," Denoble said. "Divers may try to chase lobster the same way they did it when they were 25. But at 50, it doesn't work that way any more."</p><p>Denoble recommended that older divers have regular checkups, and exercise throughout the year.</p><p>"Get prepared. You cannot go out and play a game without practice," he said. "This is your game, and you need to win."</p><p>An estimated 30,000 divers go out for lobster in a typical mini-season, with about 60 percent of them planning to do it in the Keys.