Growth of ornate rock lobsters,Panulirus ornatus, in Torres Strait, Australia

Abstract

Growth (size-at-age) of Panulirus ornatus in Torres Strait was calculated from size–frequency data collected during annual population surveys and from the catch of lobster fishermen. Growth varied on both spatial (~100 km) and temporal (yearly) scales, the former probably because of differences in water temperature and/or food availability, and the latter probably because of density-dependent effects. Although an existing growth curve formulated from tag–recapture data was similar to growth of lobsters in the fast growth zones, it may overestimate the growth of lobsters from the area where most of the tag–recapture data were collected.