Validation of a noninvasive technique for estimating fecundity in the american lobster homarus americanus

Abstract

We investigated a noninvasive sampling technique that estimates fecundity for ovigerous American lobster based on field measurement and live release. These estimates were compared with fecundity estimates obtained from the widely used traditional invasive technique involving the removal, drying, and weighing of the entire egg mass. The noninvasive technique, which requires the removal of only 10 eggs per female, produced fecundity estimates that were within 4% of those obtained using the traditional invasive method. Applications of this technique may be carried out in an experimental setting where the effects of conservation measures such as v-notching or the establishment of closed areas, aimed at increasing egg production, can be quantified without the use of destructive sampling techniques.