Abundance and size of European lobsters (Homarus gammarus) and brown crabs (Cancer pagurus) inside and outside the Kåvra lobster reserve (west coast of Sweden)

• Published in: Crustaceana
• Main Authors: Øresland, Vidar, Oxby, Gert, Oxby, Fredrik
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Brill 2020
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Aquatic Science; European lobster; Homarus gammarus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685403-bja10001; https://brill.com/view/journals/cr/93/2/article-p157_2.xml; https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/cr/93/2/article-p157_2.xml

Abstract The common method of using lobster-pot catch data for investigating relative abundance, sex and size distribution has serious disadvantages. This study estimates relative abundance and size of the European lobster Homarus gammarus and the brown crab Cancer pagurus using scuba diving techniques. The study areas were the Kåvra lobster reserve (Kåvra) on the Swedish west coast and three very different nearby areas where fishing for crustaceans is allowed: Gullmarsfjorden; the archipelago; and the offshore area. A total of 167 lobsters and 337 brown crabs were observed during 33 scuba dives (each 30 minutes long) in 2018-2019. The estimated mean abundance of lobsters was three to fifteen times as high at Kåvra in comparison with the other three areas (all exact showing that the statistical populations were distinct in comparison with Kåvra; Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney Test). Dive sites in the outer part of the offshore area had the lowest abundance of lobsters although they had seemingly good lobster habitats and low fishing intensity. Large lobsters with a carapace length of ⩾15 cm were found only at Kåvra where they made up 24% of the lobsters. The proportion of large lobsters inside Kåvra continues to increase after 30 years of protection. Together, this emphasizes the impact of fishing on lobster abundance and size distribution, and indicates that limited recruitment and migration might possibly affect offshore lobster “sub populations”. Kåvra was the only area where the abundance of lobsters exceeded the abundance of brown crabs ( ). However, the abundance of brown crabs at Kåvra was as low as in Gullmarsfjorden ( ) where fishing for crabs is allowed. Possible complex lobster/brown crab interactions together with other factors that might explain the low abundance of the protected brown crab at Kåvra, need to be investigated further.