Spiny lobster 



Panulirus argus 

 Adult 



5 cm 



(from Williams 1965) 



Common Name: spiny lobster 

 Scientific Name: Panulirus argus 

 Other Common Names: crawfish, Florida spiny lob- 

 ster, western Atlantic spiny lobster, Caribbean spiny 

 lobster, rock lobster, bug, langouste blanche (French), 

 langosta comun (Spanish) (Fischer 1 978, NOAA 1 985, 

 Williams et al. 1989). 

 Classification (Williams et al. 1989) 

 Phylum: Arthropoda 

 Class: Crustacea 



Order: Decapoda 



Family: Palinuridae 



Value 



Commercial : Spiny lobster are typically marketed as 

 tails either fresh or frozen (Fischer 1978). U.S. land- 

 ings in 1992 were 2,222.6 mt valued at $20.2 million 

 (NMFS 1993). Florida, with landings of 1,814.4 mt 

 valued at 14.6 million, accounted for 81% of the total 

 catch and 73% of the value. In 1 992, all reported Gulf 

 landings were from the west coast of Florida (Newlin 

 1993), mostly from the Florida Keys in Monroe County 

 (Lyons pers. comm.). Reported landings for Florida's 

 1995-96 fishing season were considerably higher at 

 3,1 86 mt (Matthews pers. comm.). Fishermen use top- 

 entry wood-slat traps and juvenile lobsters to attract 

 adults into the trap (Lyons 1986, Marx and Herrnkind 

 1 986). A few are harvested by divers and as incidental 

 catch by shrimp trawlers (Hunt 1 994). Florida issues a 

 special permit required for the commercial harvest of 

 this species (GMFMC 1987). Spiny lobster is a valu- 

 able commercial species and supports Florida's sec- 

 ond most valuable shellfishery (Schomer and Drew 

 1982, Marx and Herrnkind 1986). In Florida state 

 waters, lobsters must measure at least three inches 

 (76 mm) carapace length (CL) and tails must be at least 



140 mm in length to be legal for harvest (Hunt pers. 

 comm.). Florida has maintained a closed harvest 

 season since 1 91 9 (Lyons 1 986). Dates forthe closure 

 have changed several times, but have always occurred 

 during the spring-summer spawning season. Similar 

 regulations apply in offshore federal waters of the Gulf 

 of Mexico as well (GMFMC 1996a). The fishery ap- 

 pears to be fully exploited in the U.S. and may be 

 overexploited in Puerto Rico (NOAA 1 992). Capitaliza- 

 tion of the fishery is considered to be excessive. 

 Current regulations have reduced the number of traps 

 in the Florida fishery from 939,000 to approximately 

 61 3,000, while landings have remained high (Matthews 

 pers. comm.). Although there is interest in mariculture 

 of palinurid lobsters, successful rearing of the larval 

 stages has been problematic (Van Olst et al. 1980). 



Recreational : Divers, using either skin- or SCUBA- 

 diving gear catch lobsters recreationally using gloves 

 and small hand held nets (Marx and Herrnkind 1986). 

 The recreational harvest is typically about 20% of the 

 commercial landings (Bertelson and Hunt 1991), and 

 most of this fishery is in the Florida Keys. Recreational 

 diving can substantially impact local spiny lobster 

 populations when divers congregate in specific areas 

 (Blonder et al. 1 990). Recreational fishing is typically 

 closed in Florida from early April to early August 

 (GMFMC 1 982, NOAA 1 992), although there has been 

 a special two-day non-trap recreational season in late 

 July (Hunt pers. comm.). Lobsters must measure at 

 least three inches (76 mm) CL and tails must be at least 

 140 mm in length, and possession limits are enforced. 

 Similar recreational regulations apply in offshore fed- 

 eral waters of the Gulf of Mexico as well (GMFMC 

 1 996b). In Florida state waters, a special lobster stamp 

 must be purchased in addition to a recreational saltwa- 



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