The Growout of Spiny Lobster Juveniles in Marine Cages

Abstract

The permanent state of crisis is crescent in the lobster fishery sector, because of predatory fishing, there was need for new sources of yield and income. So, a 500 m2 marine nursery cage was laid down in neashore waters of Ponta Grossa community, Icapuí county (Ceará Estate - Brazil), for the cultivation, storage and trading of live individuais. The fishermen introduced, through commercial fishery, about 15.000 juvenile lobsters of species Panulirus argus (99%), and a few specimens of P. laevicauda and P. echinatus, from ]une to August, 1995. Three samplings were made, one in each month with a 30-day interval. No statistical difference was observed in the mean tail length between the 1st and 2nd samples, perhaps because the occurrence of pre- and pos-molting lobsters was only 12.88% in the 1st sampling. In the 2nd samping, 42.47% of lobsters were in those phases, bringing about a significant growth rate. A significant difference was observed in tail weight between the sampling yielding a 1g/day increment which amounted to 19.1% increase 60 days. The males had a bigger growth rate than the females, both in length and weight.