m contour, but some have moved onto mid-shelf areas, especially in the 



north. These lobsters were probably part of the offshore population migrating 



back to deeper water from inshore summering grounds. 



Graphs of mean weight and number per tow (Figures 18.3-13.6) show that 

 few lobsters are available to the trawl (see "Methods"), and those caught are 

 normally small in size. 



Length frequencies for six strata sets, arranged by season, are shown in 

 Figures 18.7-18.8. There appears to be little seasonal shift in size between 

 the different areas; inshore catches consisted mostly of smaller lobsters 

 (< 10 cm carapace length), while larger lobsters were taken more frequently 

 offshore. 



Young-of-the-year lobsters were not caught in NMFS bottom trawl surveys. 



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