Volume 63

Settlement Patterns of Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) Postlarvae on Collectors in Jamaican Waters and Culture of Juveniles.


Authors
Meggs, L.G.C., R. Dunbar Steele, and K.A. Aiken
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Date: November, 2010


Pages: 472-481


Event: Proceedings of the Sixty-Third Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute


City: San Juan


Country: Puerto Rico

Abstract

This project investigated the patterns of settlement of postlarval spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) using the modified GUSI collector. Growth rates of lobsters in captivity were also investigated using food comprising green mussel, Perna viridis, and squid, in a series of mariculture experiments. In the settlement study, a total of 449 postlarvae and 119 juveniles were caught during a 16 month period using two collectors per month at each of three sites distributed around the coast of the island. These sites were all in nearshore coastal waters accessible by boat. Results revealed periods of peak settlement in July and between October and November annually. Comparative catchability of the GUSI collector and modified Witham collector used exclusively by an earlier study, suggested that the Modified GUSI yielded slightly more larvae than the latter type. Growth experiments in aquaria under laboratory conditions, showed that juvenile piny lobsters could be grown in captivity by feeding them green mussel, Perna viridis, and squid.. Lobsters in these experiments grew for up to twelve months after which they were released back to the wild. The lobsters showed very little intra-specific aggression in captivity. Their territoriality also appeared to break down as up to five individuals could be reared in a single tank, thus permitting higher stocking densities than one per tank. Lobsters readily accepted prepared food and after the inclusion of squid to the diet, experienced little apparent difficulty while moulting.

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