APPENDIX IIT APPENDIX III 
TABLE 2 
1975 American Lobster 
Landings by State (note a) 
Percent 
State Pounds Value pounds 
= (000 omitted) 
Maine 17 ONES Sil pane 58.6 
New Hampshire 510 918 1.8 
Massachusetts Soa 97, 142 ORO 
Rhode Island 3,643 6,545 126 
Connecticut 647 eral 2 DSB 
New York 669 1,400 Dae 
New Jersey 850 D> 2.9 
Delaware 2, 48 al 
Maryland 59 106 52 
Virginia 91 165 =3 
North Carolina - = = 
Total 29,036 $49,090 100 
a/ 
— Preliminary data 
Table 3 shows a 10-year history of the U.S. and Florida 
spiny lobster landings including Florida catch from domestic 
and foreign waters. The Florida spiny lobster catches grew 
steadily to a peak of 11.4 million pounds in 1972 and then 
declined in succeeding years due to increasing harvesting 
restrictions by the Bahamian Government. The overall trend 
for catches in Florida waters has been gradually upward. 
(See table 4). Preliminary statistics for 1975 show a decline 
in landings from Florida waters. The major portion of the 
decline is attributed to unilateral actions by the Bahamian 
Government prohibiting a U.S. spiny lobster harvest in the 
continental shelf waters of Bahama. 
On August 1, 1975, U.S. fishermen were displaced from 
fishing the continental shelf waters of Bahama. Bahama de- 
clared the spiny lobster a creature of their continental 
shelf making it unlawful for other nations to fish them. 
Negotiations with the Bahamian Government have proved fruit- 
less, and as a result about 800 fishermen in the Florida 
area are unemployed. About 50 vessels are now working the 
shelf areas off Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. How 
long this will be permitted by these countries is not known. 
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