56 
Fishery Bulletin 1 13(1) 
cus and Thenus show lower fecundity than species of 
Scyllarides. 
A new, species-specific study for the hooded slip- 
per lobster is needed to gain a better understanding 
of biological patterns in this species. The variability in 
the reproductive biology of species of Scyllarides has 
been shown to be relatively high. For example, the 
hooded slipper lobster has 2 spawning seasons per year 
(Oliveira et ah, 2008) — a difference from the Galapagos 
slipper lobster (Hearn and Toral-Granda, 2007)— and 
a mean tail width at maturity of 62.6 mm (Oliveira et 
ah, 2008), compared with a mean tail width of 47.6 mm 
for the blunt slipper lobster (DeMartini et al., 2005). 
Studies of Scyllarides species are needed to estimate 
size at sexual maturity, fecundity, and reproductive pe- 
riod and to determine locations that are favorable for 
spawning in order to better understand the life cycle of 
these species and, therefore, to improve fisheries man- 
agement toward a more sustainable resource (Sparre 
and Venema, 1998; Chubb, 2000). 
Chace (1967) reported that a population of the red 
slipper lobster (S. herklotsii ) supported an intense fish- 
ing effort at Saint Helena (South Atlantic), and DeMar- 
tini and Williams (2001) noted that the blunt slipper 
lobster accounted for 64% of the lobster catch at Maro 
Reef (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands). Species of Scyl- 
laridae also are targeted by other fisheries (e.g., in the 
Mediterranean Sea, Australia, the Galapagos Islands, 
India, and Australia); however, the numbers of fisher- 
ies landings from lobster catches have declined rapidly 
worldwide, and fisheries failures have occurred or are 
likely to occur in the near future (Lavalli and Spanier, 
2007; Spanier and Lavalli, 2007). Studies show that 
generally in several places in the world most fisheries 
that have targeted slipper lobsters lacked effective reg- 
ulations for the conservation of stocks and the econom- 
ic maintenance of local fisheries (Lavalli and Spanier, 
2007). A similar situation exists in Brazil, where there 
are no regulations that govern the extraction of these 
resources and where there is little specific knowledge 
about the basic biology of these species. 
In Brazil, there are 3 genera of Scyllaridae: Scyl- 
larus , Parribacus, and Scyllarides. Two species of Scyl- 
larides occupy the south and southeast: 1) the Brazil- 
ian slipper lobster, distributed at depths of 20-130 m 
from Antilles to Brazil (Maranhao to Sao Paulo), and 
2) the hooded slipper lobster, distributed at depths of 
6-420 m from Argentina to Brazil (Rio de Janeiro to 
Rio Grande do Sul) (Holthuis, 1985, 1991; Melo, 1999; 
Oliveira et al., 2008; Duarte et al., 2010). Brazilian 
slipper lobsters are caught by 2 kinds of commercial 
fishing fleets in southeastern Brazil: 1) medium-size 
double trawlers that target mostly shrimp and 2) pot- 
and-trap fleets that target the common octopus ( Octo- 
pus vulgaris). The lobsters caught by these fleets are 
traded intact (whole). Species of Scyllarides are not the 
main target of the majority of the fisheries off south- 
eastern Brazil. In the same region, Duarte et al. (2010) 
have shown a significant reduction in the abundance of 
the hooded slipper lobster despite a relatively low fish- 
ing effort. This reduction can be explained by its slow 
rate of population growth, high total mortality (Duarte 
et al., 2011), and late maturity (Oliveira et al., 2008) 
compared with other species of the same family. Also, 
traders have noted a smaller size of individuals in the 
catch in recent years (Duarte et al., 2011). 
Brazil currently has no fishery management legis- 
lation that regulates the extraction of slipper lobsters 
in its waters, and data on the reproductive biology of 
these species of Scyllaridae would provide important 
life-cycle information that could be used for decision- 
making. Therefore, the aims of this study were to de- 
scribe the relative growth (biometrics) and reproduc- 
tive biology (maturity, reproductive period, fecundity, 
and spawning sites) of the hooded slipper lobster. We 
also sought to identify different population strata by 
sex, size, fishing area, and coloration of the carapace 
and to contribute the resulting data to inform future 
management recommendations that would promote 
sustainability and conservation of this species in com- 
mercial fisheries. 
Materials and methods 
Data collection on land 
Weekly monitoring (through visits to landing sites) and 
2 or 3 sampling efforts during the year were conducted 
for this study from May 2006 to April 2007 at all the in- 
dustrial landing sites in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil 
(at the sites of these 7 companies: 1) Cooperativa Mista 
de Pesca NIPO Brasileira, 2) Alianga, 3) Franzese, 4) 
Itafish, 5) Balan, 6) TPPS-Santos, and 7) Araripe 1 ). 
About 70% of all the fishing landings that occurred in 
this study period were monitored, and, of the 100 fishing 
landings that were monitored, 72 landings were from 
medium-size double trawlers and 28 landings were from 
the pot-and-trap fleet (Institute de Pesca, Governo do 
Estado de Sao Paulo, ProPesq, http://www.pesca.sp.gov. 
br/estatistica.php). As part of this monitoring, the total 
catch of hooded slipper lobster and information about 
the fishing areas (depth, latitude, and substrate type) 
were recorded. 
The double trawler vessels have 2 identical semi- 
conical nets. The vertical opening of each net is created 
by a flotation device from a headrope 20.0 m in length, 
each mouth opening is 15.0 m wide by 1.5 m high, and 
trawl doors (weighing 60-80 kg) keep the net open. The 
majority of these vessels preserve their catch on board 
with ice (see illustrations in Duarte et al., 2010). 
Fishing vessels that target common octopus have 
refrigerators for storage of their catch (Castanhari and 
Tomas, 2012). Each of these vessels can include up to 
1 Mention of trade names or commercial companies is for iden- 
tification purposes only and does not imply endorsement by 
the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
