Research Document - 2009/096
Recent Trends and Management Changes in the American Lobster (Homarus americanus) Fishery in Newfoundland
By R. Collins, D. Stansbury, P. Veitch and J. Janes
Abstract
The Newfoundland lobster fishery is managed by input controls including a minimum legal size (MLS), protection of ovigerous females, seasons, limited entry and trap limits. Currently, there are approximately 2900 fishers prosecuting the fishery in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs) 3-14. Trap limits vary by LFA, and range from 100-350 traps per licensed fisher. From 1992 to 2000, Newfoundland lobster landings declined in most LFAs, and landings for all of Newfoundland fell from 3200 t to1800 t. Overall landings have since increased to about 2300 t in 2003, due largely to increased landings in LFAs 11, 13A and 13B. Landings fell in 2004 to about 1900 t, but then rose to 2600 t in 2005. Reported landings in LFA 11 have risen to over 900 t, while catches in LFA 10 continue to decline precipitously. Landings in LFA 4 have also declined sharply in recent years. Catch data for the Newfoundland lobster fishery, and for individual lobster fishing areas (LFAs), are presented along with recent catch per unit effort (CPUE) data collected from one long-term monitoring site in LFA 5, as well as size composition data from at-sea sampling for three localized monitoring sites, in LFA 5, LFA 11, and LFA 14B. Exploitation rate indices for these monitoring sites were high, and size-frequency distributions indicate that, each year, the catch is composed almost exclusively of incoming recruits. Due to insufficient data, it is impossible to assess the overall status of the resource at the present time.
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