60 
Fishery Bulletin 1 13(1) 
CLxTL, LAxTL, and AWxTL), where statistically sig- 
nificant differences were detected between the indexes 
of origin a (intercept) but not between the values of b 
(slope), indicating mild sexual dimorphism. This analy- 
sis indicates that males had higher values of AL and CL 
than females for the same reference size (TL). The same 
was true for females, compared with males, with regard 
to LA and AW. However, the relationship WxTL differed 
significantly between the sexes for the value b in the 
linear regression, giving greater weight to larger males. 
Reproduction 
For this study, 49 female hooded slipper lobster 
(13.0-36.0 cm TL) were dissected, and their stag- 
es of gonad development were categorized. Of 
these females, 29 were classified as adults and 20 
were classified as juveniles, resulting in an L50 of 
25.3 cm TL (Fig. 2). 
Only 22 ovigerous females were recorded in 
landings between May 2006 and April 2007 (pots 
and traps, 72 = 13; double trawlers, n= 9), corre- 
sponding to 11.2% of the 170 adult females caught 
and with sizes ranging from 22.5 to 32.0 cm TL. 
The spawning period occurred twice a year (Fig. 
3), and a higher relative frequency occurred be- 
tween July and October (60.5%) and a lower rela- 
tive frequency, in January and February (7.2%). 
Mean individual fecundities for 8 females 
(22.1-32.6 cm TL) ranged from 55,800 to 184,200 
eggs. The linear relationship of number of eggs 
(NE) to TL (NExTL) was 
NE = (11,268x770-183,361 (77=8, r 2 =0.82). (6) 
Size structure and sex ratio 
The population structure of the hooded slipper 
lobster was very different among months as a 
function of TL, carapace color, fishing area, and 
season, both for males (Tukey’s test: 3.69<F<9.03; 
P<0.03) and females (Tukey’s test: 33.89<F<101.39; 
P<0.03). However, there were no changes in size com- 
position (TL) as a function of fishing gear for both sex- 
es (P>0.101), where sizes ranged from 14.0 to 36.0 cm 
TL in the double-trawler fleet and from 11.0 to 36.0 cm 
TL in the pot-and-trap fleet. On the basis of analysis 
of their individual sizes, a high percentage of females 
were determined to be immature (double trawlers: 
65.8%; pots and traps: 68.1%), and the monthly per- 
centage of capture of immature females ranged from 
Table 2 
Depths of the 5 fishing areas of the double-trawler and pots-and-trap fleets that operate off 
southeastern Brazil and catch hooded slipper lobster ( Scyllarides deceptor). Standard devia- 
tions (SD) of the means are provided in parentheses. 
Depth (m) 
Double trawlers Pots and traps 
Fishing area 
Min. 
Max. 
Mean (SD) 
Min. 
Max. 
Mean (SD) 
Area 1 
40 
100 
59.9 (16.8) 
70 
99 
89.4 (10.2) 
Area 2 
40 
80 
58.3 (13.3) 
43 
100 
79.2 (16.8) 
Area 3 
41 
150 
100.1 (38.2) 
43 
68 
58.8 (12.3) 
Area 4 
100 
165 
134.5 (23.9) 
100 
180 
120.0 (31.0) 
Area 5 
135 
220 
171.6 (44.0) 
- 
- 
- 
Total 
40 
220 
91.1 (42.3) 
43 
180 
81.4 (18.2) 
