HUNT ET AL.: EXPOSURE AND CONFINEMENT ON SPINY LOBSTERS 



ico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Coun- 

 cils 1982), and it seems probable from fishermen's 

 comments that virtually no shorts are intentionally 

 released. Similarly, the model only allows one input 

 of bait per month, whereas in reality additional 

 shorts are continually introduced, typically at 1-2 wk 

 intervals, to replace others lost because of death or 

 escape. These factors suggest that the model may 

 underestimate fishery-induced mortality. 



Regardless of which values are applied, the model 

 indicates that resultant losses to the fishery are con- 

 siderable Since a lobster weighs slightly <1 lb at 

 legal size, fishery-induced mortality may cause losses 

 ranging from 0.6 to 3.6 million lb. At recent ex-vessel 

 prices of $2.50 per pound, this represents a poten- 

 tial loss to the fishery of $1.5-$9.0 million annually. 

 In 1981, total reported commercial lobster har- 

 vest was 5.9 million lb valued at $14.5 million 3 , so 

 the hidden cost of baiting with shorts is consider- 

 able 



This loss may be viewed as a necessary cost, albeit 

 large, of doing business in the fishery or as a prob- 

 lem that may be alleviated by alternative manage- 

 ment strategies. If the latter course is deemed 

 necessary, use of other baits and installation of 

 escape gaps that allow shorts to escape while retain- 

 ing legal lobsters in traps (Bowen 1963) are poten- 

 tially effective strategies to increase harvest of 

 legal lobsters without adversely affecting the popu- 

 lation. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



This project was partially funded by a research 

 grant (2-34 1-R) from PL 88-309 (Commercial 

 Fisheries Research and Development Act) through 

 the Fisheries Management Division, National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department 

 of Commerce, and was administered by the Florida 

 Department of Natural Resources (FDNR) Bureau 

 of Marine Research. 



R. S. Brown, Western Australia Department of 

 Fisheries and Wildlife, provided unpublished manu- 

 scripts of related recent studies of Panulirus qjgnus. 

 Field assistance was provided by D. G. Barber, S. F. 

 Barber, G. F. Bieber, S. E. Coleman, J. W Lowry 

 R. H. McMichael, Jr., G. K. Vermeer, and M. A. 

 Winter, all presently or formerly FDNR employees. 

 G. K. Vermeer, M. A. Winter, and R. G. Muller 



Statistical Surveys Branch. 1983. Florida landings 1981. 

 Southeast Fisheries Center National Statistical Office, National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, 

 FL 33149. 



(FDNR) provided valuable discussion and other 

 assistance during manuscript preparation. All are 

 gratefully thanked. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Anonymous. 



1980. The fate of undersized rock lobsters returned to the sea. 

 West. Aust. Dep. Fish. Wildl, Fish. Ind. News Serv. (F.I.N.S.) 

 13:10-12. 



Bowen, B. K. 



1963. Management of the western rock lobster, (Panulirus 

 longipes cygnus George). Proa Indo-Paa Fish. Counc. 14: 

 139-154. 

 Brown, R. S., and N. Caputi. 



1983. Factors affecting the recapture of undersize western 

 rock lobster Panulirus qjgnus George returned by fishermen 

 to the sea. Fish. Res. 2:103-128. 

 Brown, R. S., J. Prince, N. Caputi, and J. Jerke. 



In press. Fishery induced mortality of undersize western rock 

 lobster. West. Aust. Dep. Fish. Wildl. Bull. 

 Cope, C. E. 



1959. Spiny lobster gear and fishing methods. U.S. Fish 

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1981. Effects of injuries on spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, 

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Davis, G. E., and J. W. Dodrill. 



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Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management 

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Kennedy, F. S., Jr. 



1982. Catch rates of lobster traps baited with shorts, with 

 notes on effects of confinement. In W. G. Lyons (editor), 

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 and G. R. Milano. 



1981. The spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, in the middle and 

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 and reproduction. Fla. Mar. Res. Publ. 38, 38 p. 



Lyons, W. G, and F. S. Kennedy, Jr. 



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 Inst. 33:290-300. 

 McLeese, D. W. 



1965. Survival of lobsters, Homarus americanus, out of water. 

 J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 22:385-394. 

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1978. Acid base changes during recovery from disturbance 

 and during long term hypoxic exposure in the lobster, 

 Homarus vulgaris. J. Exp. Zool. 205:361-370. 



SOKAL, R. R., AND F. J. ROHLF. 



1969. Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in 

 biological research. W. H. Freeman and Co., San Franc., 776 

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75 



