Assessment of a Baited Remote Underwater Video Method to Evaluate American Lobster ( <i>Homarus americanus</i> ) Response to Baits in Nature

ABSTRACT The American Lobster ( Homarus americanus ) is the target of an extensive fishery in the Northwest Atlantic, yet there is no systematic method for evaluating relative performance of baits for the fishery. We used Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) to assess lobster attraction to commercial baits versus natural prey. Significantly higher counts of lobsters in BRUV with commercial baits (herring, mackerel, and rock crab) matched expectations from catches in the fishery. Although location, substrate type, month, and year of deployment also affected lobster counts, the effect of bait type did not depend on any of these potentially confounding factors. Thus, we infer that BRUV can be used to compare lobster responses to different bait types regardless of when or where deployed, providing a useful tool for future initial testing of alternative baits before validation in the fishery.