The artisanal fishery of lobsters in American Samoa before and after banishment of scuba fishing with data from field survey
Coutures E. The artisanal fishery of lobsters in American Samoa before and after banishment of scuba fishing with data from field survey. Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources. Pago Pago, AS
A study of the lobster population in American Samoa was undertaken between October 2002 and 2003. Panulirus penicillatus is the main species speared by night near the outer slop by free divers while diving for finfish. Sex ratio was in favor of males. This difference in sex ratio could be due to the fishing technique which does not include the highest part of the reef edge and the beginning of the reef flat. This could also explain why commercial catches rarely include slipper lobster (Parribacus caledonicus) whereas they are relatively abundant in the field. With the aid of data from market surveys undertaken in 1999 (i.e. before the ban of scuba fishing), we established that free diving was the most efficient technique. Comparison between markets surveys done in 1999 and 2002-2003, showed an increasing of Catch Per Unit effort in terms of weight but not in number of lobster caught, and a decrease in the mean length.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Coutures, Emmanuel
- Publisher
- Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources
- Units
- NPSA , PACN
- Keywords
- American Samoa, artisanal fishery, fishing technique, lobster (Parribacus caledonicus), scuba diving