bait is added. The traps are then stacked 

 with their buoy lines coiled on top, ready for 

 resetting. 



Five men handle the operation aboard the 

 Pelican: The captain handles the vessel; a 

 second man throws the grapnel and handles the 

 controls of the hydraulic hauler; another man 

 detaches the flag buoy and coils the buoy lines 

 as they come aboard; and the remaining two 

 store the flag buoys, remove the catch and old 

 bait, add fresh bait, and repair and stack the 

 traps. Using this system and making allowance 

 for traveling the varying distances between 

 fishing locations, ZOO traps a day can be 

 handled. 



Handling Traps from the Launch 



Trap handling from the launch is similar to 

 that just described, except that the traps are 

 hauled by hand, and fewer men are used. Fifty 

 or more reed or wire traps, and a somewhat 

 lesser number of the heavier wood traps, can 

 be set and hauled in a day from the launch. 



Obtaining Bait 



Bait was taken by trawling with standard 40- 

 foot, semiballoon trawls of the type described 

 by Bullis (1951), by trolling, by longlining 

 (for sharks) with a 10-hook unit of Japanese 

 tuna longline gear, described by Captiva (1955), 

 and by handlining with or without use of night- 

 lights. Once obtained, the bait was strung on 

 soft baling wire and tied inside the traps. 

 Small fish were used whole; larger fish were 

 cut up before use. 



SURVEY AREAS 



At the start of operations, it was obvious 

 that one vessel could not survey adequately 

 the entire Panamanian coast on both sides of the 

 Isthmus in the time limits imposed by the 

 contract agreement. A type of sampling there- 

 fore was needed. 



Selection of Areas for Explorations 



A number of areas were, therefore, selected 

 prior to field operations on the basis of (1) 

 existence of small-scale lobster fisheries in 

 progress; (2) suitable habitats for lobsters as 

 judged by chart indications of reefs, island 

 areas, coral, or rock bottom, and discussions 

 with fishermen, and (3) proximity to handling 

 facilities, vessels, and a sufficient population 

 so that the exploratory results obtained could be 

 utilized with the minimum of shifts of people 

 and supplies. Since most of the lobsters caught 

 would be shipped to or through Panama City, 

 proximity to market was a factor considered, 

 but not given especially great weight in selec- 

 tion of survey areas. 



Exploratory Fishing Coverage (fig. 12) 



The Pelican made seven cruises on the 

 Pacific coast and four on the Caribbean coast. 

 This unequal distribution of effort was neces- 

 sary because of highly adverse weather and 

 sea conditions in the Caribbean in winter 

 1962-63. The Caribbean effort was, therefore, 

 restricted to the San Bias Islands area, where 

 the environment appeared to favor lobster 

 abundance, and the waters around Bocas del 

 Toro Channel where there was small-scale 

 lobster fishing and where it seemed likely 

 that increased fisheries would be stimulated if 

 the explorations were successful. Indications 

 had also been received that the profitable 

 Costa Rican fishery for lobsters extended 

 toward the Bocas del Toro area. 



In the Pacific, attention was at first focused 

 on two areas--the Gulf of Panama and the Gulf 

 of Chiriqui. The first was chosenbecause of its 

 nearness to Panama City, the number of ves- 

 sels and fishermen in bordering communities, 

 and indications from the fishermen that lobsters 

 occurred, at least seasonally. The second area 

 was chosen after an examination of charts 

 showed indications of suitable lobster habitat 

 and access to processing and marketing 

 facilities. 



The additional time allotted the Pacific, 

 owing to bad weather in the Caribbean, was 

 spent in extending exploratory coverage to- 

 wards Colombia and Costa Rica. 



EXPLORATORY FISHING RESULTS- 

 FIRST YEAR 



In the first year of operations (August 30, 

 1962, to June 30, 1963), 11 cruises of the 

 Pelican were completed in 1 6 1 sea days 

 (fig. 12). Seven of these cruises were in the 

 Pacific Ocean, where the primary target was 

 the Pacific spiny lobster ( Panulirus gracilis ); 

 the remaining four were in the Caribbean Sea, 

 where the Caribbean spiny lobster (P. argus ), 

 was sought. During the cruises 1,071 fishing 

 stations were occupied, most of them with 

 traps. In all, 5,417 successful trap sets 

 (table 1) were made, representing a total 

 cumulative effort of 12,039 trap fishing nights. 

 In addition, 214 traps were set but not recovered 

 and 131 traps were known to have been mal- 

 functional, owing either to trap damage or im- 

 proper setting. 



Caribbean (Atlantic) Explorations 



Areas surveyed include those near and about 

 the San Bias Islands (cruise 5) and in the 

 Bocas del Toro Channel area (cruises 4, 12, 

 and 13). 



Fishing in the Bocas area in April resulted 

 in catches averaging one lobster per 3 trap 



