TABLE 9. Claw loss for lobsters caught in wire pots from 1978 to 1987. 



al. (1978) reported that trap-related injuries re- 

 sulting in claw loss were often associated with 

 water temperature, fishing pressure (i.e., handling 

 by lobstermen), trap soaktime, and physical con- 

 dition of the lobster (i.e., its nearness to moUing). 



Tagging Program 



The numbers of lobster tagged in 1986 and 1987 

 were 5,698 and 5,680 respectively. These values 

 were within the range of values established in 

 pre-operational studies (Table 10). Recapture 

 percentages during the same period were 21.0% 

 and 23.9%, and also within the range of pre- 

 operational percentages (15.9-23.9%). The per- 

 centage of commercial recaptures was 20.2% in 

 1986 and 17.8% in 1987. These values were 

 lower than in previous years (range 21.1-47.6%) 

 due to the implementation of a new trap regulation 

 in 1984 which required escape vents in commercial 

 traps. Lobstermen recaptured 27.7 to 47.6% of 

 our tagged lobsters from 1978 through 1983, an 

 overall average of 37.4%. When the escape vent 

 went into effect in 1984, lobstermen recaptured 

 fewer of our tagged lobsters (21.5-17.8%), an 

 overall average of 18.8%. In contrast, our traps 

 do not have escape vents and subsequently our 

 rates of recapture increased from 17.0% to 22.7% 



after the regulation went into effect. I ,andcrs and 

 Blake (1985) demonstrated the retention rate of 

 tagged lobsters in vented and unvented traps. 

 With the regulation in force, the mean size of 

 tagged lobsters caught in commercial traps fitted 

 with escape vents was larger than the mean size 

 caught in unvented traps (i.e., a number of the 

 tagged sublegal-sized lobsters were escaping from 

 pots which had escape vents). 



Movement 



Movement patterns of the local lobster popu- 

 lation were assessed using recapture data from 

 our sampling efforts and those of commercial lob- 

 stermen. Because lobsters were tagged and re- 

 leased at the station where captured, any move- 

 ment between stations could be detected at recap- 

 ture. During 1986 and 1987, 97% of the lobsters 

 were recaptured at the release station compared 

 to 95% in pre-operational study years indicating 

 that movement between stations continues to be 

 minimal. Of the exchanges that did occur, most 

 were between the nearshore Jordan Cove and In- 

 take stations. Tagging studies conducted in east- 

 em LIS by Stewart (1972) demonstrated the hom- 

 ing behavior of nearshore lobster populations. 



136 



