Reproductive season of the scalloped spiny lobster panulirus homarus along the Coast of Oman : management implications

Abstract EN

The spiny lobster Panulirus homarus is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific.

Along the coast of Oman it supports an artisanal fishery using traps and tangle nets.

The egg-bearing incidence of females caught between 1989 and 2006 were analysed relative to month, lobster size and location of capture.

The smallest female with external eggs had a carapace length (CL) of 54.6 mm, but only 9–18 % of females of 60–69 mm CL carried eggs.

This percentage increased significantly above 70 mm CL, and on average, 63 % of individuals >90 mm carried eggs.

Eggbearing increased seasonally at the onset of the SW monsoon in May and June, when wind-driven upwelling reduces inshore water temperatures and increases primary productivity.

The reproductive season extended over a 9-month period up to January, with a pause in February to April.

No geographical gradient in egg-bearing seasonality was observed.

The prolonged breeding season with multiple broods in large females conforms with the typical pattern of tropical palinurids.

The 2month open fishing season (15th October to 15th December) falls within the breeding season, and may be more optimally placed in February to April.