68 THE KEPRODUCTION OF THE LOBSTER. 



is in part compensated by the fact that tlic number of eggs produced 

 increases so rapidly with the increase in size of the lobster. 



Herrick makes the exceedingly moderate statement that, taking into 

 account "the fact that the species, as a whole, does not appear to be 

 maintained at present at an equilibrium, but rather to be actually on the 

 decline, a little reflection will convince anyone that the destruction of 

 the young of this species in nature, must be much greater than that 

 entailed by the survival of 2 in 10,000." 



But this estimate appears, from a consideration of all the facts, to be 

 considerably too low, and we should, I believe, be well within the mark 

 in placing the figures at 2 in 30,000. It must not be lost sight of that 

 the number of eggs that it is necessary for a female to produce to 

 maintain the species at an equilibrium, in other words, the number of 

 eggs actually produced by each female, had become a fixed quantity 

 before there was any interference on the part of man in the way of 

 lobster fishery, as we must suppose that the species was then adapted to 

 its conditions. Lut, since the introduction of lobster-fishing has done 

 nothing to increase or diminish the dangers to which the larva is 

 exposed after it has become free,* the number of eggs now produced, on 

 an average, by a female lobster during her lifetime, will give us an indica- 

 tion of the minimum number of eggs necessary, in order to ensure the 

 survival to sexual maturity of two individuals. 



From the Report of the Newfoundland Department of Fisheries for 

 1893, p. 39, it appears that from a total of 96,098 female lobsters taken 

 from 1890 to 1893, the number of eggs collected was 2,247,908,000, 

 which would give an average of 23,000 eggs for each female. This is 

 the average number of eggs actually carried. But a female with 23,000 

 eggs would, according to Herrick's results, have a length of more than 

 12 inches, and would, therefore, from the known average age at which 

 spawning commences, be carrying, at least, her second brood. Under 

 these circumstances 30,000 eggs, on the average, to each female during 

 her lifetime, must be well within the mark and the number of survivors 

 necessary, therefore, to maintain the species cannot be more than 2 to 

 every 30,000 eggs. 



As Herrick points out, attempted remedial measures, which are 

 confined to the mere hatching of lobster eggs, and turning the larvae 

 immediately into the sea, can have but little practical effect. The rate of 

 destruction will be at least as great as in the case of larvie hatched by the 

 parent, and, on the estimate given above, two, at most, will survive out 

 of every 30,000. This method of attempting to benefit the lobster 

 industry has been extensively used in Newfoundland, and it is 



* It may, of course, be maintained that the capture of other fish has tended to reduce 

 he number of enemies of the hirv.'e. 



