High levels of site fidelity in movement patterns of Southern Rock Lobster (Jasus edwardsii) in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Movement patterns of the Southern Rock Lobster Jasus edwardsii in Victoria, Australia were investigated from 8,533 tag-recapture events across a 20-year period (1992–2012). In total, 83% of lobsters were recaptured within 1 km of their tagging site and 93% within 5 km. While largely resident, elevated movements were observed within specific regions, with the overall direction of movement being from inshore to offshore areas. Movement was not impacted by lobster sex, size, or reproductive stage. The fishery for Southern Rock Lobster within Victoria is currently managed into two zones with separate total allowable commercial catches in each area. Given the high levels of site fidelity, our findings suggest that management of the resource at this spatial scale is appropriate and that consideration of significant movement between zones is not warranted in fishery stock assessment models.