Figure 22. — A shrimp trawler equipped with a 6-foot, reinforced, expanded metal scallop dredge working the scallop 

 beds found by the R/V Pelican in the Gulf of Panama. A deck load of the bay scallop ( Aequipecten circularis ) can 

 be seen. 



in the Gulf of Panama produced 4 bushels 

 of bay scallops, their meat yield and quality- 

 were checked and noted. This information 

 was passed on to the local fishing industry, 

 whose reaction to the news was almost im- 

 mediate. Four shrimp trawlers were dis- 

 patched to the area and, using only shrimp 

 trawls, caught more than 23,000 pounds of 

 shell stock (whole scallops). One of the local 

 shrimp plants made some rapid renovations 

 which enabled a 24-hour continuous opera- 

 tion, employing more than 300 people, to 

 process, pack, and freeze scallop meats. 

 Within a short time, there were 15 trawlers 

 (fig. 22) with crews averaging 6 men working 

 the beds. A change of gear from trawls to a 

 6-foot, reinforced, expanded metal dredge 

 enabled the vessels to double their production 

 rate. During the first 2 months of operation, 

 658,161 pounds of shell stock were landed. 4 



^Personal communication from Juan L.Obarrio, Direc- 

 tor, Department of Fishes, Panama. 



BIOLOGICAL NOTES ON PANAMANIAN 

 LOBSTERS 



Because a developing lobster fishery would 

 ultimately have to concern itself with some 

 biological considerations, it had been planned 

 to collect data that would lend itself to the 

 industry. These data would include informa- 

 tion on spawning activities and length and 

 weight measurements. To derive useful in- 

 formation on spawning required collections for 

 a full 12-month period. This was accom- 

 plished for one of the three species of lobsters 

 that were found in commercial quantities in 

 Panamanian waters, the Pacific spiny lobster, 

 P. gracilis . Owing to adverse weather con- 

 ditions and the geographical distances involved, 

 an insufficient amount of spawning data was 

 collected for the Caribbean species of spiny 

 lobster, P. argus . Because the Pacific sand 

 lobster, E. princeps , was not located in com- 

 mercial quantities until just prior to the 

 project's end, there was no opportunity to 



19 



