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Fact Sheet Title Fact Sheet |
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Caribbean spiny lobster - Belize |
Spiny lobster of Belize EEZ |
| Data Ownership | This document provided, maintained and owned by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , is part of WECAFC Stock Status Reports data collection. |
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ident Block | ident Block | | Species List: | Species Ref: en - Caribbean spiny lobster, fr - Langouste blanche, es - Langosta común del Caribe |
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| ident Block Caribbean spiny lobster - Belize
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Exclusive Economic Zone Areas (EEZ) |
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BLZ | Belize |
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Aq Res | Biological Stock: No
Value: National Management unit: Yes
Reference year: 2015
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Considered a management unit: An aquatic resource or fishery is
declared as [Fishery] Management Unit if it is
effectively the focus for the application of selected
management methods and measures, within the broader
framework of a management system. According to the FAO
Glossary for Responsible Fishing, "a Fishery Management
Unit (FMU) is a fishery or a portion of a fishery
identified in a Fishery Management Plan (FMP) relevant
to the FMP's management objectives." FMU's may be
organised around fisheries biological, geographic,
economic, technical, social or ecological dimensions ,
and the makeup and attribute of a fishery management
unit depends mainly on the FMP's management
objectives. |
Jurisdictional distribution: Jurisdictional qualifier (e.g.
"shared", "shared - highly migratory") of the aquatic
resource related with its spatial distribution. |
Environmental group: Classification of the aquatic
resource according to the environmental group (e.g.
pelagic invertebrate, or demersal fish) to which the
species belong. |
Reference Year: The Reference Year is the last year considered in the stock assessment and/or fishery status. |
| | | | Habitat Bio Climatic Zone: Tropical. Horizontal Dist: Littoral. Vertical Dist: Benthic. Geo Dist Geo Dist: National Water Area Overview | Water Area Overview Caribbean spiny lobster - Belize
Exclusive Economic Zone Areas (EEZ) | BLZ: Belize |
| | | | Water Area Overview |
Water Area OverviewCaribbean spiny lobster - Belize Aq Res Struct Biological Stock: No Bio Assess Medley (2005) indicated the spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) stock in Belize appears to be heavily exploited. González (2007) made a first attempt in approximating the lobster population of Belize using cohort analysis; which resulted in that the Fishing mortality was high as 0.7 year-1 and annually it is extracted between 40% to 60 %( average 55% for the period) of the stock. This was contrary to what was reported by Medley (2005). The recruitment to the fishery shows that a decrease occurs from 1999-2000 with a rapid recuperation and stabilization from 2001 -2005, however there was a decrease in 2006. Assess Empirical Approach Type: Expert judgment Visual census, monthly samples (catch, effort and morphometric data) Two divers will dive along the belt transect at approximately 2 m away from the belt. Each transect will be recorded using a hand held GPS. Each conch found along the transect will be counted and morphometric measurement will be recorded. Management Management unit: Yes Minimum size (minimum carapace length is 3 inches or 7.6 cm, minimum tail weight is 4 ounces or 113.4 g). Closed season (15 Feb to 14 June). Prohibition of possession of diced lobster tail meat. No commercial deep water fishing is allowed. Prohibition of lobster fishing with SCUBA gear. Coastal network of 8 marine reserves. No lobster traps are allowed beyond the barrier reef. No lobster traps are allowed within a distance of 300 m from any coral formation. It is prohibited to capture “berried” or egg bearing lobsters, lobsters with “tar” spot and molting lobsters. In addition a Lobster Management Plan is in place, a National Managed Access Programme and data sharing with Statistical Institute of Belize (S.I.B), Belize Central Bank, fishing cooperatives, NGOs and other Departments. Sources Fisheries Department, Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and Sustainable Development Belize City, Belize. Personal communication, 2016. http://www.fisheries.gov.bz/ |
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