CONTENTS 



Page 



INTRODUCTION 1 



Some aspects of the history of the commercial lobster fishery 1 



The lobster trap; description and ramifications 2 



BIOLOGICAL NOTES 6 



Premolt and postmolt relationship 6 



Berried female measurements 6 



Implications for management 8 



Fecundity 8 



Consideration of the maximum size limit 8 



PROBABILITY SAMPLING PLAN 8 



Methods for improving survey estimates 9 



Expanded estimates from probability sampling 12 



Cluster samples 13 



Length frequency analysis 13 



Analysis by 14% increments 13 



Analysis by probability paper 24 



Comparison of 14% increments with probability modes 25 



Other determinations from cluster samples 29 



Catch and effort analysis 29 



Relationship between catch in numbers per trap-haul and set-over-days ... 37 



Relationship between catch per unit of effort and effort 38 



Consideration of effectiveness of fishing 41 



POPULATION PARAMETERS 42 



Von Bertalanffy growth equation 42 



Weight-length relationship 42 



Mortality rates 43 



Substantiation of certain estimates of natural mortality 47 



Fishing mortality estimates 47 



Other factors associated with mortality estimates 48 



Consideration of trap limitations 48 



Use of population parameters to estimate mean length of catch 49 



YIELD ESTIMATES 50 



Influence of other parameters on yield 54 



Discussion 54 



CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 54 



The need for a technique to determine the age of lobsters 55 



SUMMARY 55 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 56 



LITERATURE CITED 56 



in 



