New index links changing ocean food webs to Bermuda's spiny lobster fishery
Spiny lobster larvae spend six to nine months drifting in the open ocean, feeding within the plankton community, before eventually settling into shallow-water habitats such as mangroves, seagrass beds or coral reefs. This means the number of young lobsters reaching Bermuda is strongly influenced by ocean conditions across the wider North Atlantic and Caribbean region.
A new index has been developed to link changing ocean food webs to Bermuda's spiny lobster fishery. Spiny lobster larvae drift in the open ocean for six to nine months before settling in shallow-water habitats. This new trophodynamic index, published in Communications Earth & Environment, combines catch-per-unit-effort data from Bermuda's commercial lobster fishery with long-term observations from the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study and satellite measurements of ocean photosynthesis.
The findings show that warming ocean temperatures, declining primary production, and changes in the zooplankton community may reduce the nutrition available to lobster larvae during their drifting period and to juvenile lobsters and other higher trophic-level organisms. The index outperformed temperature, primary production alone, previous catch levels, or long-term average conditions in explaining changes in lobster catch rates and providing more accurate forecasts.
Researchers emphasize that this index can serve as a complementary tool to current fishery monitoring and management approaches, offering an early warning system for resource managers to adapt their strategies as the ocean environment changes.
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