Collecting and processing lobsters

Abstract

There are over 200 species of lobsters distributed among three families of decapod crustaceans: NephropidaeDana, 1852(clawed lobsters), PalinuridaeLatreille, 1802(spiny lobsters), and ScyllaridaeLatreille, 1825(slipper lobsters). Lobsters occur throughout most of the world's seas and live in a variety of habitats from just below the tide line to depths of over 1000 m. The large-bodied species support valuable fisheries and fishers have developed a variety of techniques to capture adult lobster on which scientists can capitalize for their own collections. Trap-based methods, however, often yield biased estimates of abundance and size- and sex-structure. Divers also have many tools available to facilitate the hand-collection of lobsters in shallow water, whereas in deeper water modern underwater videography can be employed to estimate lobster abundance, size, and sex ratios. Plankton nets provide collections of planktonic larval and postlarval lobsters, although towed 3D video camera arrays are a promising new technology for this purpose. Inshore, a multitude of artificial collectors that mimic various types of settlement substrates have been developed to collect the postlarval and early benthic stages of different lobster species. Aquaculture is another alternative by which larvae and postlarvae can be obtained, but these methods are complicated and time consuming, especially for spiny and slipper lobsters because of their long planktonic larval duration. Methods for the non-destructive collection of lobster tissue samples and the preservation of lobster samples are also reviewed, followed by an appeal for humane treatment of lobsters and respect for local regulations and customs.