mortality which might be expected to occur to 

 sublegal American lobsters returned to the water 

 after trawling. These observations indicated that 

 this source of mortality should only be a concern 

 during molting periods. Since delayed mortality 

 to sublegal American lobsters occurs to a signifi- 

 cant degree only during molting periods, an inci- 

 dental limit of some number of lobsters per day 

 for trawlers during those periods represents an 

 effective means to deter the directed fishery and 

 protect sublegal American lobsters while allow- 

 ing the finfish fishery to continue. 



There has been considerable controversy in 

 New England regarding the effects of trawling on 

 the American lobster resource. This study pro- 

 vides three results of assistance to fishery man- 

 agers dealing with this question. First, both pot 

 and trawl gear damaged American lobsters, but 

 trawl-induced damage occurred more frequently, 

 and particularly during molting periods. How- 

 ever, damage was not always lethal and visibly 

 undamaged lobsters virtually never sustained de- 

 layed mortality. Second, during molting periods, 

 mortality caused by trawling reached 6-21%, de- 

 pending on season. Delayed mortality was influ- 

 enced most by the degree of damage sustained by 

 the lobster. Therefore, while delayed mortality 

 may be of considerable consequence to the re- 

 source during molting periods, it can be estimated 

 by inspection of the condition of lobsters in the 

 catch. Third, during intermolt periods, both im- 

 mediate and delayed mortality due to trawling 

 occurred infrequently {<!% and <2%, respec- 

 tively). All these factors should be evaluated 

 within the context of the biological and socioeco- 

 nomic considerations inherent in the fishery 

 management process. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Our appreciation is extended to the numerous 

 commercial fishermen who allowed DEP staff to 

 sample their catches, and to Mark Johnson, Bill 

 Webb, Mark Blake, Mark Alexander, and David 

 Simpson for their efforts in fishery sampling and 

 data analyses. We are grateful to the Northeast 

 Utilities Service Company, Millstone Environ- 

 mental Laboratory, Waterford, CT for providing 

 wet laboratory facilities for the delayed mortality 

 study and we thank Victor Crecco, David Simp- 

 son, and Robert Jones for their review of the 

 manuscript. 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 85, NO. 4 



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