Habitat addition and stock enhancement for American lobsters, Homarus americanus
Kathleen M. Castro, J. Stanley Cobb, Richard A. Wahle and John Catena
Marine and Freshwater Research
52(8) 1253 - 1261
Published: 25 January 2002
Abstract
Six experimental artificial reefs for lobsters were established in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, in February 1997. These have been monitored according to a ‘before-after-control-impact’ design since placement by means of visual surveys, traps, tag-recapture, photoquadrats, and airlift sampling. Juvenile and adult lobster density at the reef increased from near zero to >1 lobster m–2, significantly higher than the two control areas. Settlement of young-of-year lobsters has significantly increased. We used microwire tags to mark hatchery-reared lobsters and released over 2000 marked 5th–6th-stage lobsters in each of two years. The density of young-of-year lobsters on enhanced reefs was not different from that on the control reefs. Despite intensive sampling, we have recovered only one of the hatchery-reared animals. Field observations indicate possible behaviour differences in the hatchery-reared lobsters that might make them more susceptible to predation.https://doi.org/10.1071/MF01095
© CSIRO 2002