Temperature and Lobster, Homarus americanus, Yield Relationships

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 2073-2082 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Campbell ◽  
D. J. Noakes ◽  
R. W. Elner
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Time Series Models ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Sea Temperature ◽  
Survival And Growth

Commercial landings of American lobster (Homarus americanus) have increased dramatically in many areas along the east coast of Canada since the late 1970's. Average annual sea surface temperatures (SST) were analysed to test if lobster landings were related to changes in the marine environment. Time series models were fitted to lobster landings and SST data from Maine (USA), Halifax County (Nova Scotia), and Charlotte County (New Brunswick). Including temperature in the models improved forecasting ability for lobster catches for Maine and Halifax but not Charlotte. In Maine, lobster landings in year t were related to SST in year t. In Halifax, however, landings were related to SST in the previous 4 yr but not by SST of the current year. Lower fishing effort levels for Halifax compared with Maine probably extended the yield from strong year-classes through a number of years. We surmise that an increase in sea temperature near Halifax during the early 1980's increased the survival and growth rates of lobster juveniles. This provided a strong pulse of recruits to the fishery throughout coastal Nova Scotia during the mid- to late 1980's. Similar increases in temperature and landings were not observed for Maine and Charlotte.

Spatial and Temporal Overlap of the American Lobster (Homarus americanus) and Sea Scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) as Related to the impact of Inshore Scallop Dragging

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 1486-1492 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Roddick ◽  
R. J. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
The Other ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Placopecten Magellanicus ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Sea Scallop ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Temporal Overlap

Assessment of the damage of one fishery by another requires knowledge of the overlap, in time and space, of the damaging fishing effort and the abundance of the damaged species, as well as a measure of the rate of damage. This approach was used to measure the impact of inshore scallop dragging on lobsters in Nova Scotia. Areas of reported co-occurrence of lobster and scallop grounds were surveyed by divers to determine the extent of overlap. Only 2 of 52 sites surveyed had lobsters on scallop grounds that could be dragged. Divers surveyed one site six times during 1987 and 1988 and found lobsters most abundant during August and September. Only 2% of the lobsters in the path of scallop drags were either captured or injured. The estimated value of lobsters destroyed by dragging for scallops during periods of peak lobster abundance was minor: $757 at one site and $176 at the other. Restricting dragging to periods of low lobster abundance significantly reduces this cost.

Relationship Between Destructive Grazing by the Sea Urchin, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, and the Abundance of American Lobster, Homarus americanus, on the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia

1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
pp. 1339-1349 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. G. Wharton ◽  
K. H. Mann
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Sea Urchins ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Strongylocentrotus Droebachiensis ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
History Of ◽  
Kelp Bed ◽  
The Relationship

Relationships between percentage cover of macroalgae, population structure of sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis), and the history of the lobster fishery were examined at nine sites distributed along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia from Guysborough County in the northeast to Pubnico in the southwest. At Pubnico there was dense algal cover and a small number of urchins living in crevices, and at Cape Sable there was an area of transition, but at all other sites there were urchin-dominated barren grounds. When the population structure of the urchins was compared with that previously observed in St. Margaret's Bay before, during, and after destruction of beds of kelp (Laminaria spp. and Agarum) by overgrazing, it was concluded that kelp bed destruction occurred on the coast north of Halifax prior to 1970, and on the coast south of Halifax after 1970. From the records of American lobster (Homarus americanus) catches it was concluded that a critical decline in catches at each site occurred a few years after kelp bed destruction. Information from various sources is synthesized into a coherent theory of the relationship between lobsters, other predators, sea urchins, and kelp.Key words: lobsters, Homarus americanus; sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis; destructive grazing, kelp, Laminaria, Agarum

Large-scale Analysis of Atlantic Nova Scotia American Lobster (Homarus americanus) Landings with Respect to Habitat, Temperature, and Wind Conditions

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 1308-1321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Hudon
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Thermal Characteristics ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Cumulative Number ◽  
Northern Cape ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Homogeneous Regions

American lobster (Homarus americanus) landings per unit of habitat, calculated for 25 statistical districts (SD) of Atlantic Nova Scotia (N.S.), were consistently higher in northern Cape Breton (SD 1–7) and southwestern N.S. (SD 32–34) than from the eastern (SD 15–18) and southern (SD 22–31) shores. Analyses suggest that changes in lobster populations of Atlantic N.S. take place over distances in the order of 100 km and over periods of about 5 yr and that lobster abundance is not limited by habitat availability. Five large homogeneous regions subject to similar historical landing trends could be identified on the basis of their thermal characteristics. Regions of lowest lobster landings (SD 8–31) are oriented in the axis of dominant southwest winds, which generate coastal upwelling, resulting in the lowest cumulative number of degree-days and a high year-to-year variability. Conversely, the high landings recorded in southwestern N.S. can be related to warm and stable temperature conditions, allowing lobsters to enhance yearly thermal gains via winter migrations into deep (> 100 m), warm Slope water. The definition of homogeneous regions characterized by common historical landing trends and thermal regime suggests that lobster abundance in Atlantic N.S. is ultimately controlled by large-scale oceanographic processes.

Egg Loss from the American Lobster, Homarus americanus, in Relation to Nemertean, Pseudocarcinonemertes homari, Infestation

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 772-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Campbell ◽  
John Brattey
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Egg Incubation ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Low Correlation ◽  
Incubation Periods ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between nemertean (Pseudocarcinonemertes homari) infestaton and egg loss from ovigerous American lobsters, Homarus americanus, trapped near Grand Manan, New Brunswick, was investigated during 1980–83. The proportion of lobster eggs lost each month was variable, but generally increased to a maximum of 0.38–0.43 at the end of each of the three egg incubation periods. Up to 6.3% of the newly ovigerous lobsters tagged (N = 1413) during July–October 1982 has lost all their eggs by April–July 1983. Most ovigerous lobsters (74%) were infested with P. homari, but many lobsters had low mean densities of nemerteans (< 2/1000 lobster eggs). There was a significant but low correlation between P. homari densities and the proportion of eggs lost; however, egg losses could not be attributed solely to P. homari. Egg loss did not differ significantly between uninfested and nemertean-infested lobsters during each of the three egg incubation periods. The few lobsters that acquired high densities (> 4) of P. homari during the early stages of egg incubation appeared to suffer extensive or complete egg mass destruction. However, most lobsters maintained low densities (< 2) of nemerteans and hatched most (> 60%) of their eggs.

Factors Influencing the Size of American Lobster (Homarus americanus) Stocks Along the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia, Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Gulf of Maine: A New Synthesis

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gareth C. Harding ◽  
Ken F. Drinkwater ◽  
W. Peter Vass
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Gulf Of Maine ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Georges Bank ◽  
Larval Recruitment ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Recruitment Failure

The general aspects of fluctuating American lobster (Homarus americanus) stocks are considered in an attempt to identify common principles controlling lobster populations in the Gulf of Maine, Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. Inshore fishing mortality is known to be precariously high in both Canadian and American waters yet only in the central Northumberland Strait region and along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia are stocks experiencing steep declines. Existing regulations allow fishing of lobsters well below the size at which maturity can be expressed. In western and central Northumberland Strait female lobsters are not protected by the 'berried' law because of the timing of the fishing season. Climatic change, expressed as sea-surface temperature, is closely associated with the success of lobster recruitment in the Gulf of Maine, but nowhere else. Huntsman's hypothesis that warm surface water of sufficient duration is essential for the successful completion of the larval stages of the lobster is found to have wide application. Warmer waters are also found to have a preponderance of plankton in the size categories required for feeding by the first two larval stages. Both the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and the southwestern Gulf of Maine, including Georges Bank, are believed to be prolific nursery grounds for the early larval lobsters because warm water with plenty of food stimulates rapid development and settling. We calculated that larvae released on Georges Bank supply recruits to southern Nova Scotia, Bay of Fundy, and Maine, whereas some larvae from the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence are thought to settle as far as Cape Breton Co., N.S., and before the closure of the Strait of Canso, Guysborough Co., N.S. The past importance of lobster recruitment to the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia through the Strait of Canso is estimated to have been as high as 60% of the average landings in Chedabucto Bay during the 11 best years of this fishery. The failure of the Atlantic coast lobster fishery off Nova Scotia is believed to have been initiated by a larval recruitment failure caused by the synchronous closure of the Strait of Canso and the start of a general climatic cooling. Possibly a critical temperature was reached along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia in the 1950s below which larval survival is much reduced by the shortened season. Reduced lobster abundance along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia may have contributed to the imbalance in the benthic ecosystem in which an uncontrolled urchin population consumed the kelp beds and until recently greatly reduced the primary production input to the system.Key words: American lobster, Homarus americanus; stocks, recruitment, ecology, larval transport

Survival and Growth of Juvenile American Lobsters (Homarus americanus) After Eyestalk Ablation

1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Trider ◽  
E. G. Mason ◽  
J. D. Castell
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Brine Shrimp ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Eyestalk Ablation ◽  
Adequate Diet ◽  
Stage Juvenile ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Control

The effect of size at the time of ablation on postoperative survival was assessed by removing the eyestalk from 4th, 5th, and 6th stage juvenile American lobsters (Homarus americanus) 6 d postmolt. The 6th stage juveniles exhibited significantly higher survival (72.8%) through three postoperative molts than the 5th or 4th stage lobsters (45 and 30% survival, respectively). Survival of control lobsters through the same number of molts was 90%. The feeding of a nutritionally adequate diet (frozen brine shrimp) was of prime importance with regard to survival of both ablated and control lobsters. The mean percent total weight gains for these three postablation molts were 610, 571, and 642% for 4th, 5th, and 6th stage lobsters, respectively, while the weight gain for control lobsters was 407%. The data suggest that eyestalk ablation should not be performed earlier than 6th stage for maximum survival and growth. Key words: eyestalk ablation, American lobster, survival, growth

A survey of parasites of the American lobster, Homarus americanus (Crustacea: Decapoda), from the Canadian Maritimes

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 1998-2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Brattey ◽  
Alan Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Parasite Fauna ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Stock Discrimination ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Size Groups

Examination of 885 lobsters (Homarus americanus) trapped in five areas of the Canadian Maritimes during 1980–1982 revealed four parasite species: Porospora gigantea (Apicomplexa: Sporozoea), Polymorphus botulus (Acanthocephala: Palaeacanthocephala), Hysterothylacium sp. (Nematoda: Secernentea), and Stichocotyle nephropis (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda). The prevalence and abundance of each parasite species did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) between lobster sexes or size groups. Lobsters in each area were characterized by a high prevalence of P. gigantea (43.6 to 84.2%) and low prevalences of P. botulus (1.3 to 9.9%) and Hysterothylacium sp. (1.1 to 5.6%). Stichocotyle nephropis was found in one lobster from German Bank. The parasite fauna were similar throughout the areas sampled, which suggests that the data were of little value for lobster stock discrimination. However, lobsters probably acquired P. botulus in the shallow coastal areas where the primary hosts of this parasite occur; therefore, the presence of P. botulus in lobsters from inshore and offshore areas south and southeast of Nova Scotia suggests some mixing between coastal lobsters and those on the continental shelf.

Associations between sea temperature, catch per unit of fishing effort, and yield in the Bermuda spiny lobster fishery, 1975-1989

1995 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 809 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR Evans ◽  
APM Lockwood ◽  
AJ Evans
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Annual Growth ◽  
Quadratic Regression ◽  
Annual Average ◽  
Sea Temperature ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Hamilton Harbour ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
Lobster Fishery

Results of graphical analyses of annual records of catch, effort and sea temperature indicate empirical quadratic associations between industry catch per unit of fishing effort (CPUE) in Bermudan spiny lobster (Panulirus argus and P. guttatus) fisheries and the annual average sea temperature at Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda. CPUE and yield of P. argus and of P. guttatus were each associated by quadratic expressions with the annual average sea temperature of the Bermuda Platform. Annual growth and survival of late juvenile P. argus and P. guttatus into the fishable stock at Bermuda is controlled in a quadratic fashion chiefly by sea temperature with a six-month lag. The optimum annual average sea temperature for the survival and growth of late benthic juvenile P. argus into the fishery stock was 23.6 � 0.2�C (mean � s.e.), and the comparable optimum for P. guttatus juvenile recruitment was 24.1 � 0.1�C. The maximum equilibrium catch of P. guttatus lobsters on Bermuda Platform was estimated at approximately 33 000 lobsters from quadratic regression of yield on fishing effort.

Reproductive Potential of Three American Lobster (Homarus americanus) Stocks in the Canadian Maritimes

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 1958-1967 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Campbell ◽  
D. G. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Bay Of Fundy ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Female Size ◽  
New Information ◽  
Stock Recruitment

New information on female size at maturity, fecundity, and relative egg production per recruit is presented for American lobsters (Homarus americanus) from three areas in the Canadian Maritimes. Based on pleopod examination, sizes at 50% maturity for females were estimated at 108.1 mm carapace length (CL) from the Fundy area (Bay of Fundy and southwestern Nova Scotia), at 92.5 mm CL from eastern Nova Scotia, and at 78.5 mm CL from Northumberland Strait. There was a curvilinear relationship between the number of eggs per female and CL. An egg-per-recruit model predicted that in all three areas the second and third molt groups beyond the legal minimum recruit size contribute the most to egg production under current exploitation rates. Lobsters in Northumberland Strait and eastern Nova Scotia produce up to 30–50% of their eggs at sizes smaller than those at which females from the Bay of Fundy start to produce eggs. Although the stock–recruitment relationships for H. americanus are unknown, the egg-per-recruit assessment suggests that all three areas would benefit in egg production increases by increasing minimum legal recruit size by one molt increment.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document