The Catch Effort of Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) on South Caicos, British West Indies

The spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, which inhabits bank around South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands, is the most economically important crustacean in the Caribbean region. In recent years concern regarding overfishing has become prominent. In this study 46 boat loads of specimens, with catches derived from 11 fishing sites were surveyed for data sets including size, sex, and amount from each site. The catch-per-unit effort calculated for each site revealed that individual diving ability and ease of harvest were the greatest determinants for choice of fishing site. Environmental conditions of spiny lobster habitats; such as, water depth and direction of currents playa major role. With the data base that has been collected over the past three collection periods it is apparent that over-harvesting of particular sites is taking place rather than the depletion of the entire population.