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Lobster early release trials - FC0305
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Description
R&D
Summary Objectives:-
Under the lobster stock enhancement programme examine the
viability of releasing juvenile lobsters at the earlier
stage V/VI, including comparing the survival rate with the
stage XII trials.
Key customer purpose:-
Improve the economic viability of the lobster stock
enhancement programme by reducing the unit production costs
thus encouraging the eventual use of this technique by
industry. |
Objective
A. Short/medium Term
1. Produce up to 4,000 juveniles during each summer season
for the next four years.
2. Improve system of tagging stage V/VI juveniles with
0.5mm x 0.25mm microtag to minimise mortalities and maximise
tag retention.
3. Determine effectiveness of releasing at stage V/VI by
close monitoring of catches of undersize and market size
animals from previously surveyed sites at Ardtoe.
4. Assess results by correlation with those from existing
large scale projects.
B. Long Term
The long term aim is to be able to establish viable and self
sustaining colonies of lobster on sea bed areas which have
previously supported lobsters but for one reason or another
no longer do so, and on artifical substrates which can be
created in areas where the ecosystem would support the
introduction of a new species. It is hoped that, if and
when the results from the main lobster stock enhancement
trials show positive proof of the effectiveness of the
techniques, industry will come forward to pay for laying out
of animals in specific selected areas. The first instance
of this is already imminent as BP Ltd. have commissioned a
feasibility study on the use of these techniques to restore
lobster populations displaced by their proposal to build an
artificial island in Poole Bay.
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Time-Scale and Cost
From:
1990
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To:
1994
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Cost: £106,600 |
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Contractor / Funded Organisations
Seafish Industry Authority |
Keywords
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Fields of Study
Fish Health and Aquaculture |