Research Document 1998/123

The American Lobster, Homarus americanus, In the southern Gulf of St. Lawerence (Lobster Fishing Area 23, 24, 25, 26A and 26B)

By M. Lanteigne, M. Comeau, M.Mallet, G. Robichaud, and F. Savoie

Abstract

The overall catches of lobster for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence have been slowly declining since the 1990 record landings. Catches for 1997 are ranging between 1.8 to 2.5 t of lobster per km² of fishing ground. The general reduction in landings and number of lobster caught since the early 1990's is observed in all Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs) with the exception of LFA 24 which shows a steady increase.

The fishing fleet characteristics do vary widely by LFA, which may have a role in the overall fishing power. Differences are observed in the type and design of traps, and vessel particularities.

Recent research works have confirm the limited annual movement (within 10 - 15 km), the growth rate (18% for males and 15% for females) and the size at sexual maturity for females (50% of females are mature at 70 - 72 mm in carapace length). These researches have also shown that lobster throughout the southern Gulf have similar attributes. The calculations of exploitation rates using the Leslie analyses have also confirm the high levels found in earlier studies. These values are ranging between 63% to 87%.

A revised egg per recruit (E/R) analysis still suggests that the lobster stock is heavily fished and recruitment overfished, and confirms the need to increase egg production. The management changes announced in 1998 should help increase the egg production of the population and reduce the risk of recruitment declines if environmental conditions become unfavorable. Any non compliance by fishers to the new management measures will hinder all attempt to increase egg production.

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