Pilot California Spiny Lobster Postlarvae Sampling Program: Collector Selection

Abstract

Lobster (infraorder Astacidea) is perhaps the most intensively studied shellfish around the world due to its economic importance (Phillips 2006). Fishery management tools almost universally include catch reporting, but fishery-dependent data such as this often fails to adequately inform managers about the true state of the population (Erisman et al. 2011). Increasingly, fishery-independent surveys are being relied upon to provide the robust information fishery managers require, such as the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation (CalCOFI). The CalCOFI program attempts to understand and predict variations in the Pacific Sardine (Sardinops sagax) fishery, among others, in California through quarterly sampling of fish larvae and other biological and hydrographic data. This focus on larval stages stems from Hjort’s seminal work in 1914, which hypothesized the recruitment and transition of larval forms into postlarval and juvenile life stages is a critical period in population dynamics (Houde 2008). In modern times, fishery management agencies expend significant effort towards cataloging and understanding recruitment levels and patterns which provide the foundation for most fishery management tools (e.g. stock assessments). Recruitment monitoring is at the core of many of global lobster fishery management programs (Cruz et al. 1995; Acosta et al. 1997; Cruz and Adriano 2001; Phillips et al. 2005; Phillips and Melville-Smith 2005; Phillips et al. 2006; Arteaga-Rios et al. 2007; Phillips et al. 2010). Recruitment monitoring of numerous lobster taxa globally have been well correlated with future catch-rate predictions, typically with a 4 to 5 year time lag (e.g. Gardner et al. 2002; Caputi and Brown 2011; Linnane et al. 2014). Long-term recruitment monitoring programs, such as that in Australia (Linnane et al. 2010), are vital in assessing future stock levels and setting the total allowable commercial catches. Like many lobster species, the California Spiny Lobster (Panulirus interruptus) is an economically important fishery species, supporting one of California’s most valuable fisheries with annual ex-vessel values exceeding $9 million (Porzio et al. 2012). However, unlike many of the world’s lobster fisheries, no California Spiny Lobster recruitment monitoring program exists. Recent attempts to address this data gap have been made using plankton collection (Koslow et al. 2012) and power plant entrapment records (Miller 2014). Plankton collections were unable to reliably predict recent landings while entrapment records were more successful, but both articles noted the likely effect of unknown recreational harvest levels impacting the analyses and final conclusions. While informative, neither existing program fulfills the need for targeted information on California Spiny Lobster recruitment in southern California. Furthermore, as southern California power plants shift away from once-throughcooling, lobster entrapment data may soon be unavailable, in which case no regular abundance estimates of California Spiny Lobster postlarvae will be available. Noting the clear need for lobster recruitment monitoring in California, a pilot program was initiated in Orange County, California with the hopes of establishing a model that Bull. Southern California Acad. Sci. 113(3), 2014, pp. 180–186 E Southern California Academy of Sciences, 2014