Spatial and Temporal Overlap of the American Lobster (Homarus americanus) and Sea Scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) as Related to the impact of Inshore Scallop Dragging

Abstract

Assessment of the damage of one fishery by another requires knowledge of the overlap, in time and space, of the damaging fishing effort and the abundance of the damaged species, as well as a measure of the rate of damage. This approach was used to measure the impact of inshore scallop dragging on lobsters in Nova Scotia. Areas of reported co-occurrence of lobster and scallop grounds were surveyed by divers to determine the extent of overlap. Only 2 of 52 sites surveyed had lobsters on scallop grounds that could be dragged. Divers surveyed one site six times during 1987 and 1988 and found lobsters most abundant during August and September. Only 2% of the lobsters in the path of scallop drags were either captured or injured. The estimated value of lobsters destroyed by dragging for scallops during periods of peak lobster abundance was minor: $757 at one site and $176 at the other. Restricting dragging to periods of low lobster abundance significantly reduces this cost.