Volume 60

Regional cooperation for the responsible use of the Caribbean Spiny Lobster resource.


Authors
Chakalall, B. and K. Cochrane.
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Date: November, 2007


Pages: 239-246


Event: Proceedings of the Sixtieth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute


City: Punta Cana


Country: Dominican Republic

Abstract

The Caribbean Spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, resource supports valuable fisheries in the western central Atlantic, which provide employment and high economic returns. Recent assessments under the auspices of FAO Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) have indicated that the resource is being fully or overexploited over much of its range. Primarily because of the lengthy pelagic phase of P.argus larvae, the resource is shared in the region so national research and management initiatives will be most effective biologically and economically if implemented in a coordinated and co-operative manner. There has been some regional co-operation in research and management through the FAO WECAFC, in co-operation with regional agencies, in particular UNEP, CFMC and CRFM. Under the auspices of WECAFC, workshops on the assessment and management of the Caribbean spiny lobster resource were held in Belize City, Belize, 1997; in Merida, Mexico, 1998 and 2000; Havana, Cuba 2002; and in Merida, Mexico 2006. This paper provides an overview of the results and management decisions of the 2006 workshop, which included the recommendation that countries should adopt a minimum size of 74 mm of carapace length, or above, for harvest and to manage fishing mortality in order to achieve sustainable use of the resource. Greater effectiveness in research and management can be achieved through regional cooperation

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