LOBSTERS

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.