In LobsterScience/bio.lobster: Lobster Stock Assessment Tools for DFO Maritimes

Background

Description of the fishery

Commercial Lobster fishing in LFA 35 occurs in the Bay of Fundy (Figure 1) and borders the biggest Lobster fishery in the Canadian Northwest Atlantic, LFA 34, which has the highest landings and the most participants of any LFA in Canada. Landings in LFA 35 began a long-term increase in the mid-1990s, and current landings are near a record high. A similar increase in landings was also observed in most of the Gulf of Maine regions and other LFAs in Atlantic Canada. The fishery is managed by input controls including a Minimum Legal Size (MLS, 82.5 mm Carapace Length [CL]), prohibition on landing of both egg-bearing and V-notched females (with no setal hairs), limited entry licensing, split fishing season (October 14th–December 31st; last day of February–July 31st), and trap limits (300). Other management measures include the requirement of vents to allow sub-legal-size Lobster to escape and biodegradable trap mechanisms to mitigate ghost fishing by lost traps.