SEARCHING FOR LOBSTERS

RESEARCH MISSION
Across the Caribbean, a summer vacation in the tropics is virtually synonymous with a chance to eat lobster – or more specifically the Caribbean spiny lobster. The perils of this association are clear. In Florida, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands and many other Caribbean islands, lobster populations have declined dramatically.

On Little Cayman, research to date has focused on the health of coral or the number of reef fish species. Lobsters have largely escaped our attention. And yet, they form ideal and sought after subjects for that perfect underwater photograph. It is common to see adult and young lobster while diving in Bloody Bay Marine Park on the North shore of Little Cayman. This raises some interesting questions. Is this protected area protecting lobster populations on Little Cayman? Does the marine park increase lobster populations elsewhere around the island as a growing population spills out of the park boundaries? Where are the young lobster?

To add to these questions, lobsters lead an interesting life. Before settling into an attractive juvenile habitat, young lobster (or pueruli) can spend over a year in the open ocean drifting largely at the mercy of oceanic currents. Where do the lobster that we see on Little Cayman start their life? Regardless of the answer to this question, if Little Cayman has a healthy lobster population it is important to understand what we can do to conserve this population.

In this project we will conduct an initial assessment of lobster populations on multiple reefs surrounding Little Cayman. We will estimate the abundance and size structure of lobster populations and record the habitats in which we see adult or young lobster. This assessment will provide an important baseline to begin to understand the factors determining the health of the lobster population in Little Cayman – and indirectly, the ways in which we can protect this population.

THE RESEARCHER(S)
Jason Vasques
A fisheries biologist, Jason Vasques has been fortunate to work in diverse countries throughout the world. Starting his career in freshwater research, he worked on the high mountain lakes of the Sierra Nevada’s in California. From there, he moved to New Zealand where his Masters research focused on ecological interactions in the Fjordland triplefin fishes. Returning home to California, Jason worked for the California Department of Fish & Game as the Tuolomne River biologist in charge of salmon restoration. Desire to experience warmer waters led him to a position with the territorial government of the US Virgin Islands where his focus was the design and monitoring of Marine Protected Areas, lobster population assessments and seafloor mapping. After sailing, bonefishing and sampling the local rum, Jason returned to California to work for CDFG on the Marine Protected Areas project. However, he maintains his ties to Caribbean research and continues to work for effective fisheries management in the region.

DIVING ACTIVITIES
Each research dive will involve several activities. Specific activities may vary depending on the previous experience of divers. We will conduct daytime and evening surveys. Divers will be shown the methods used to survey rare and cryptic species such as lobster to accurately record numbers. We will search for lobster inside and outside protected reefs around Little Cayman. Surveys will also include photographic documentation of the habitats in which we see juvenile and adult lobster.