Poster Abstract
13. TRANSLOCATION OF LOBSTERS RESULTS IN DENSITY DEPENDENT CHANGES TO GROWTH
Bridget Green*, Caleb Gardner, Dave Hobday, Adrian Linnane, Klaas Hartmann
Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 49, Tasmania, 7001, Australia.
Demographic and market traits of the southern rock lobster, Jasus edwardsii, vary throughout its’ range, which affects the distribution and production of the fishing industry. Lobsters from deep water tend to be pale (and thus lower value), have slower growth and higher density. We undertook a large-scale experiment to explore whether the yield and value of these deep water lobsters could be increased by translocating indiivudals to faster growth, shallow habitat. Over 3 years, approximately 30000 lobsters lobsters were captured from a southern, deep water site, Maatsuyker Island, and translocated in lots of 1800 to 2000 individuals to 8 inshore shallow water sites along the east coast of Tasmania, ranging from 30 to 300nm from the capture site. Growth of residents at the removal site and the Taroona release site was measured before and after the translocation. Growth at the removal site increased while growth at the release site decreased after 6000 lobsters were introduced, a pattern consistent with density-dependent suppression of growth. These results enable better prediction of the effect of large scale enhancement / translocation programs on productivity. Further, the removal of large numbers of lobsters from the source site is mimicking the effects of fishing and change in productivity that may result.
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