Fecundity dynamics of female spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) in a south Florida fishery and Dry Tortugas National Park lobster sanctuary

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney D. Bertelsen ◽  
Thomas R. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Dry Tortugas ◽  
Spiny Lobsters

Using diver surveys, we compared the size structure, fecundity, and reproductive season of spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) in the Dry Tortugas National Park lobster sanctuary with those of spiny lobsters in the south Florida fishery. The number of lobsters of both sexes larger than the legal size limit declined sharply in the fishery but not in the sanctuary. Clutch sizes were larger in the Dry Tortugas sanctuary, averaging 0.8 million, than in the fishery, averaging 0.3 million. The reproductive season was shorter and more intense in the sanctuary than in the fishery. In addition, lobsters in the sanctuary begin producing eggs at a larger size and produce more eggs per gram of body mass than lobsters in the fishery. Peak egg production occurs earlier in larger lobsters than in small ones. Establishing a fundamental reason for the differences between lobster reproduction in the sanctuary and that in the fishery is not possible until the chronological age of lobsters can be determined, but one hypothesis consistent with these differences is that, if lobsters reproduce at a certain chronological age, then sublethal fishery practices may account for slower growth for some lobsters resulting in some smaller but older reproductively active lobsters.

Movements of the Spiny Lobster Panulirus argus in South Florida

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 2228-2234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas R. Gregory Jr. ◽  
Ronald F. Labisky
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Patch Reef ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Deep Reef ◽  
Spiny Lobsters

Long-distance movements of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus were studied in two Gulf of Mexico habitats (Shallows, Mid-depth) and three Atlantic Ocean habitats (Shallows, Patch Reef, and Deep Reef) in the lower Florida Keys during the mid-1970's. Of 6062 spiny lobsters tagged and released at the five sites between June 1975 and August 1976, 465 of the 771 (13%) lobsters recovered yielded usable movement data. Eighty percent of the tags were recovered within the first 3 mo of the 8 mo commercial fishing season (July 26 – March 31). Directions and rates of movements differed significantly (P < 0.05) among sites. Movements from Gulf sites were generally oriented to the west and southwest, toward the Atlantic offshore reefs, at mean displacement velocities of 0.57 km/d (Mid-depth) and 0.24 km/d (Shallows). Movements of lobsters from the Atlantic sites were principally eastward and westward, parallel to the reef line and island chain, at mean displacement velocities of 0.02 km/d (Deep Reef) and 0.05 km/d (Shallows, Patch Reef). The more directed movements of spiny lobsters from Gulf sites may reflect a migration from nursery grounds to the Atlantic reefs, which not only constitute the primary spawning habitat but also exhibit a more stable winter environment than the shallow Gulf. Movements of spiny lobsters within Atlantic waters reflect localized random onshore–offshore dispersal patterns typical within reef environments.

Problems and Perspectives Regarding Recruitment of Spiny Lobsters, Panulirus argus, to the South Florida Fishery

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 2099-2106 ◽  
Author(s):  
William G. Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Carapace Length ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
International Management ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Juvenile Growth ◽  
Larval Recruitment ◽  
Yield Per Recruit

Inappropriate minimum size, illegal harvest, fishery-induced juvenile growth retardation and mortality, and excessive effort have reduced reproductive contributions and depressed yield-per-recruit in the overcapitalized south Florida spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery. Measures recommended to improve yield-per-recruit are as follows: increase minimum legal size to 85–90 mm carapace length; require escape gaps in traps; eliminate possession of sublegal lobsters aboard vessels; prohibit harvest in nurseries; reduce fishing effort; improve enforcement of fishery regulations; and initiate programs to educate fishermen regarding impacts of fishery practices. International management is recommended to assure larval recruitment among Pan-Caribbean stocks.

Age and size structure of Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, in a no-take marine reserve in the Florida Keys, USA

2013 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 84-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry E. Maxwell ◽  
Thomas R. Matthews ◽  
Rodney D. Bertelsen ◽  
Charles D. Derby
Keyword(s):  
Size Structure ◽  
Marine Reserve ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Panulirus Argus

The sensory basis of feeding behaviour in the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles D. Derby ◽  
Pascal Steullet ◽  
Amy J. Horner ◽  
Holly S. Cate
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Natural Food ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Spiny Lobsters ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Chemosensory Pathways ◽  
Chemosensory Systems

A complex nervous system enables spiny lobsters to have a rich behavioural repertoire. The present paper discusses the ways in which the sensory systems of the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, particularly its chemosensory systems, are involved in feeding behaviour. It addresses the neural mechanisms of three aspects of their food-finding ability: detection, identification, and discrimination of natural food odours; the effect of learning on responses to food odours; the mechanisms by which spiny lobsters orient to odours from a distance under natural flow conditions. It demonstrates that the olfactory organ of spiny lobsters might use acrossneuron response patterns in discriminating odour quality; that the hedonic value of food can be modified by experience, including associative and nonassociative conditioning; that spiny lobsters can readily orient to distant odour sources; and that both chemo- and mechanosensory antennular input are important in this behaviour. Either aesthetasc or nonaesthetasc chemosensory pathways can be used in identifying odour quality, mediating learned behaviours, and permitting orientation to the source of distant odours. Studying the neuroethology of feeding behaviour helps us understand how spiny lobsters are adapted to living in complex and variable environments.

Settlement of Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus, Pueruli in South Florida: An Evaluation from Two Perspectives

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 2221-2227 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Marx
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Carapace Length ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Red Alga ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Seasonal Trends ◽  
Lobster Fishery ◽  
Mangrove Roots

Settlement of spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, pueruli occurs year-round in south Florida, but seasonal trends are not consistent. Recruitment peaks are common in spring but sometimes occur in other seasons. Postsettlement dynamics of seasonal settlement classes must be determined to establish a relationship between puerulus abundance and subsequent fishery yield. Pueruli settle in various shallow-water habitats, including masses of the red alga Laurencia, algal-covered mangrove roots, and colonies of the bryozoan, Bugula. Settlement habitats of 0.04–2 ha can produce 1906–3913 juveniles (20 mm carapace length) annually. Management must protect these critical habitats to assure productivity of the spiny lobster fishery.

Trap-induced mortality of the spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, in Florida, USA

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Fishing Season ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
Spiny Lobsters ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Lobster Fishery

In Florida’s lobster fishery, sublegal-sized spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus, are commonly placed in traps to attract legal-sized lobsters. Many died from exposure to air during transport before the use of live wells and still die because of confinement in traps. Much of this mortality is not apparent during normal trap-fishing operations, and the magnitude of the unobserved mortality remains the subject of controversy between fishermen and fishery managers. After fishermen began using live wells in the 1987–88 fishing season, the harvest of legalsized lobsters increased. Initially, the increase was smaller than predicted, apparently because the average number of traps in the fishery increased from 576 000 during the 1977–78 to 1986–87 fishing seasons to 854 000 during the 1987–88 to 1992–93 seasons. High numbers of traps in the fishery have been implicated as contributing to increased mortality of sublegal-sized lobsters. When the average number of traps was reduced to 605 000, after the 1993–94 season, the harvest predictions attributed to live-well use were largely achieved. Observations on commercial fishing vessels were used to reevaluate previous harvest predictions and develop additional coefficients for fishing mortality related to exposure and confinement in traps.

Reproductive potential and stock recruitment of the Caribbean and Brazilian metapopulations of the spiny lobster, Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804)

Crustaceana ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 87 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1315-1337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúl Cruz ◽  
Katia C. A. Silva ◽  
João V. M. Santana ◽  
Juliana C. Gaeta ◽  
Israel H. A. Cintra
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Total Surface Area ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Brazilian Coast ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Spiny Lobsters ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Northern Brazil

The spiny lobsterPanulirus argus(Latreille, 1804) is the most important commercial fishing resource in the western central Atlantic and Brazil. Field studies covering the waters off southwestern Cuba and northern Brazil have improved our understanding of the variations in the reproductive potential (number of eggs), stock recruitment and reproductive efficiency of spiny lobsters according to location, depth and size class. Using the spawner-recruitment model, the reproductive potential index was correlated with the index of subsequent recruitment based on field sampling. Spiny lobster habitats in deeper waters need special attention in order to protect the species from overfishing of the recruitment. Considering the longevity and absence of reproductive senility in spiny lobsters, management strategies should ideally include the creation of spawner sanctuaries (marine protected areas) capable of restoring and maintaining the biomass of the spawning stock and the establishment of a maximum catch size of 135 mm (CL) for both sexes along the entire Brazilian coast. Based on our findings, we propose to establish spiny lobster sanctuaries (50-100 m) on the continental shelf off northern Brazil, from Amapá (5°25′N 51°0′W) to the western reaches of the coast of Pará (1°11′N 46°27′W, 0°42′N 46°45′W), covering a total surface area of 64 230 km2.

Current status of the spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, fishery in the Los Roques Archipelago National Park, Venezuela

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1615
Author(s):  
Mario Yallonardo ◽  
Mario Yallonardo ◽  
Juan M. Posada ◽  
Juan M. Posada ◽  
Daniella M. Schweizer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
National Park ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Total Catch ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Fishing Season ◽  
Unit Effort ◽  
Lobster Fishery

Los Roques Archipelago National Park traditionally accounts for 95% of the total Venezuelan catch of Panulirus argus. Lobsters are caught in traps and by skin divers, during a 6-month fishing season (1 November to 31 April). The current status of the fishery was evaluated through a comparison of the 1998–99 lobster fishing season with previous studies. Thirty trap licences and 41 skin-diving authorizations were granted in 1998–99. Catch per unit effort was estimated as 2.31 kg/trap/month and 155.66 kg/diver/month, values similar to those from the 1983–1985 and 1986–1988 seasons. Total catch for the 1998–99 season was estimated as 139.31 tonnes (67.1% from traps), 47.78% higher than official reports. Estimated total catch, however, decreased by 40% from previous scientific evaluations. This decline has been attributed to a reduction in numbers of both trap licences and active traps. Size distribution of the 665 lobsters examined was not statistically different from that found in previous studies. The similarities in catch per unit effort and size distribution between the fishing seasons 1983–1985, 1986–1988, and the present study reflect a relatively stable fishery. The spiny-lobster fishery remains the main source of income of the fishers in the archipelago.

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