Lobster fishing
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Lobsters<ref group="Note">For the purposes of fisheries, the term "lobster" includes clawed lobsters (Nephropidae), spiny lobsters (Palinuridae), slipper lobsters (Scyllaridae), and several other groups of large long-bodied decapod crustaceans.</ref> are widely fished around the world for their meat.<ref name="MLW"/> They are often hard to catch in large numbers, but their large size can make them a profitable catch.<ref name="MLW"/> Although the majority of the targeted species are tropical, the majority of the global catch is in temperate waters.<ref name="MLW"/>
Methods
Several methods are used to catch lobsters, with the method depending largely on the species being targeted.
Lobster pots
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The large Homarus lobsters are caught almost exclusively with lobster pots (also called "lobster traps"). These are large rigid objects which the lobster enters voluntarily, often to reach bait, and which it then cannot escape.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Traps are also used in some spiny lobster fisheries, such as the fishery for the California spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus, in the eastern Pacific Ocean.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Lobster traps can either be wire or wooden, today fishermen are straying from the wooden traps as they can be heavier than the wire. Traditionally, a lobster trap has two compartments. The outside, or “kitchen”, has nylon netting leading inside the trap to the “parlour” where the lobsters are caught.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Trawling
Trawling is the main method used for the Norway lobster or Dublin Bay prawn, Nephrops norvegicus,<ref name="Nephrops"/> and for those slipper lobsters that prefer soft substrates, such as Thenus and Ibacus.<ref name="AFD">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It has also become more frequently used in the fishery for Homarus americanus.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Gill nets and trammel nets
Gill nets and trammel nets are used for the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Hand-fishing and spearfishing
Slipper lobsters that prefer crevices, caves and reefs (including Scyllarides, Arctides and Parribacus species) are usually caught by SCUBA divers.<ref name="AFD"/>
Restrictions
Legal restrictions apply to the catching of lobsters in many parts of the world, in order to prevent overfishing and allow recruitment to the next generation. Common restrictions include the provision of a minimum landing size, preventing fishermen from catching "berried" females (females carrying eggs), closed seasons and limiting catches with individual fishing quotas.
Commercial fishing regulators in the United States, such as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the National Marine Fisheries Service, enforce restrictions through the use of lobster fishing licenses and lobster pot tags that correspond to the fisher's permit number. Tag manufacturers also maintain databases for each state's licensed fisheries, tracking how many tags each fisher purchases every year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Distribution and species
Of the 280,000 tons of lobster catches reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization for the year 2010, 188,000 t (67%) was of true lobsters (family Nephropidae), 80,000 t (28%) was of spiny lobsters (Palinuridae) and about 10,000 t (4%) was of slipper lobsters (Scyllaridae).<ref name="FIGIS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
| FAO common name | Scientific name | Catch in 2010 (t) <ref name="FIGIS"/> |
|---|---|---|
| American lobster | Homarus americanus | 115,651 |
| Norway lobster | Nephrops norvegicus | 66,544 |
| Caribbean spiny lobster | Panulirus argus | 35,642 |
| Tropical spiny lobsters nei<ref group="Note" name="nei">"Nei" = not elsewhere included.</ref> | Panulirus | 22,128 |
| Japanese fan lobster | Ibacus ciliatus | 9,114 |
| Australian spiny lobster | Panulirus cygnus | 5,502 |
| European lobster | Homarus gammarus | 5,083 |
| Southern rock lobster | Jasus novaehollandiae | 4,368 |
| Cape rock lobster | Jasus lalandii | 3,418 |
| Red rock lobster | Jasus edwardsii | 2,871 |
| Lobsters nei<ref name="nei" group="Note"/> | Reptantia | 2,577 |
| Longlegged spiny lobster | Panulirus longipes | 2,303 |
| Palinurid spiny lobsters nei<ref name="nei" group="Note"/> | Palinurus | 1,132 |
| Flathead lobster | Thenus orientalis | 924 |
| New Zealand lobster | Metanephrops challengeri | 825 |
| Southern spiny lobster | Palinurus gilchristi | 734 |
| Common spiny lobster | Palinurus elephas | 449 |
| Tristan da Cunha rock lobster | Jasus tristani | 403 |
| St. Paul rock lobster | Jasus paulensis | 390 |
| Spiny lobsters nei<ref name="nei" group="Note"/> | Palinuridae | 306 |
Atlantic Ocean
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About 122,000 t of lobsters are caught in the north Atlantic Ocean (FAO Fishing Areas 21 and 27),<ref name="MLW">Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref> where the dominant species are Homarus americanus and Nephrops norvegicus.
The State of Maine accounts for 57,000 t of Homarus americanus landings valued at $450 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
N. norvegicus is mostly caught by trawling. Around 60,000 tonnes are caught annually, half of it in the United Kingdom's waters.<ref name="Nephrops">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Discards from Nephrops fishery may account for up to 37% of the energy requirements of certain marine scavengers, such as the hagfish Myxine glutinosa.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Boats involved in Nephrops fishery also catch a number of fish species such as plaice and sole, and it is thought that without that revenue, Nephrops fishery would be economically unviable.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The European lobster, Homarus gammarus is found across the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean from northern Norway to the Azores and Morocco. Homarus gammarus is mostly fished using lobster pots, although lines baited with octopus or cuttlefish sometimes succeed in tempting them out, to allow them to be caught in a net or by hand.<ref name="MLW"/> In 2008, 4,386 t of H. gammarus were caught across Europe and North Africa, of which 3,462 t (79%) was caught in the British Isles (including the Channel Islands).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The minimum landing size for H. gammarus is a carapace length of Template:Convert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Caribbean Sea
In the Caribbean Sea, the main species targeted by lobster fisheries is the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus.
Eastern Pacific Ocean
The most important lobster species on the West Coast of the United States is the California spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus.<ref name="MLW_interruptus">Template:Cite book</ref> Recreational lobster fishers in California must abide by a legal catch limit of seven lobsters per day and a minimum body length of Template:Convert, measured from the eye socket to the edge of the carapace.<ref name="CDFG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The sport season for California spiny lobster starts on the Saturday preceding the first Wednesday in October through to the first Wednesday after 15 March.<ref name="CDFG"/> Commercial fishers use lobster traps.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
New Zealand
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} New Zealand implements the Quota Management System (QMS) to limit catches of fish and shellfish. Under QMS, a limit of Template:Convert for the rock lobster Jasus edwardsii, and Template:Convert for the New Zealand scampi, Metanephrops challengeri, were in place in 2011.<ref name="NZFish">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Recreational fishers may only gather by hand or use lobster pots, while commercial fishers catch lobsters by trawling. The total catch in 2011 was Template:Convert of J. edwardsii, Template:Convert of M. challengeri, and Template:Convert of Sagmariasus verreauxi.<ref name="NZFish"/>
Recreational fishing of lobsters ("crayfishing") in New Zealand does not require a permit provided catch limits, size restrictions, and seasonal and local restrictions set by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are followed. The legal recreational daily limit is six lobsters per person, with a maximum of three lobster pots permitted per person. Lobsters cannot be taken if they are in berry (carrying eggs) or in the soft shell stage. For J. edwardsii, the minimum legal size is 54 mm for males (no pincers on the rear legs and single pleopods) and 60 mm for females (pincers on the rear legs and paired pleopods), measuring the width of the tail over the primary splines on the second segment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Australia
A number of species are targeted around the coasts of Australia. Jasus edwardsii is found off Australia's southern coast, from Western Australia to New South Wales, as well as in New Zealand. Thenus orientalis, known as the Moreton Bay bug, is fished on the country's north coast.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Safety
Lobster fishing is considered a hazardous occupation by NIOSH. Lobster fishermen who become entangled in their trap line are at risk of drowning if they are pulled overboard. Best practices have been developed to prevent and reduce entanglement, and to facilitate getting fishermen who have fallen overboard back onto their vessels.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Fishing safety can be found in many manuals and courses can be taken to ensure that your vessel and crew are up to date on all of their safety procedures to reduce the risk of injury or drowning. There are many policies to be followed for many things such as on-board working procedure, maintenance and more.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Environment
There are procedures in place to minimize the amount of pollution in the water while fishing. If a spill were to take place on a vessel, the first thing is to minimize the amount and prevent as much from entering the water. A pollution kit should be aboard every vessel in case of a spill.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
- Dangers of Entanglement During Lobstering, a publication from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
- Template:Webarchive
- History of Lobster Fishing and Processing
- Lobstering History
- The Lobster Fishery of Maine by John N. Cobb; Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, Vol. 19, Pages 241-265, 1899; from Project Gutenberg
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