Volume 61
The Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) in the Wider Caribbean: A Review of Life Cycle Dynamics and Implications for Responsible Fisheries Management
Authors
Cruz, R. and R.D. Bertelsen. Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2008
Pages: 433-446
Event: Proceedings of the Sixty-First Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Gosier
Country: Guadeloupe
Abstract
The spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804) is the most important fishery resource in the western central Atlantic and north-eastern Brazil. The complex life cycle has been studied over the last 50 years in five locations in the wider Caribbean: Cuba archipelago, Florida Keys, Bermuda, Mexico and Brazil. Field studies have increased our understanding of variations in the reproductive season by location and depth, size at first maturity, fecundity, and relative magnitude of egg production as indicated by an index of reproductive potential. This review of the life cycle dynamics of spiny lobster suggests that new regulatory measures for the western Atlantic population should be adopted to increase the reproductive potential and ensure sustainable recruitment. A regional focus is therefore needed in investigations of the life cycle and the fisheries to assist in improving responsible fisheries management