Lobster fishery with traps in the central coast of Pernambuco State: species composition and catch rates

Abstract

The objective of this work was to investigate the species composition and the catch rates of the lobster fishery with traps in Pernambuco. Besides the red (Panulirus argus) and the green (Panulirus laevicauda) spiny lobsters, six other species of crustacean, 34 fish species and two mollusk species were also caught. Catch rates of lobsters were higher when traps were deployed in shallow waters northward of Olinda coast. Catch rate of lobsters decreased from the beginning to the end of the harvest season, when catch rates of fishes surpassed that of lobsters. Catch rates of mollusks were low. The high diversity and the ecological and economic importance of the bycatch species highlight the need for monitoring the fishery with traps, as well as for studies on the potential production and vulnerability of those species caught together with lobsters.