The Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences [BIOS], part of Arizona State University, are highlighting their recent collaborative research into factors affecting Bermuda’s spiny lobster fishery.
A spokesperson said, “The results could help Government better anticipate changes affecting the lobster population and support the long-term management of this important local fishery.
“Published in Communications Earth & Environment, the study was led by ASU BIOS researcher Leocadio Blanco-Bercial in collaboration with DENR’s Marine Resources staff. It brought together DENR’s long-term fisheries records, satellite data, and ocean observations from the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study [BATS] at ASU BIOS, and examined how conditions in the wider North Atlantic Ocean affect the number of young lobsters reaching local waters.
“Bermuda’s lobster catch has declined over the past decade despite longstanding management measures that support fishery sustainability, including protections for breeding females and juvenile lobsters. However, lobster larvae spend nine months in the open ocean before the juveniles settle in coastal habitats. Local regulations cannot protect these larvae, and their survival depends on favorable ocean conditions and finding enough plankton to feed on.
“By combining the three sets of data, researchers developed a new way to track changes in ocean conditions and the plankton food chain and link those changes to the supply of larvae available to replenish Bermuda’s spiny lobster population. This new index explained changes in lobster catch rates better than predictions based on previous catch levels, ocean temperature, or other available environmental measures.”
Minister of Public Works and Environment Jaché Adams said, “Bermuda’s fisheries are important economically and culturally, and we have a responsibility to ensure they are managed sustainably for future generations. Research like this gives us a better understanding of how wider changes affect our local marine environment and provides our technical team with additional information to help manage our resources.”
Lead author Blanco-Bercial, associate professor in the ASU School of Ocean Futures, noted that the most exciting aspect of the work is “combining data from Bermuda’s fishermen and fisheries with long-term observations from BATS and satellite imagery.”
The spokesperson said, “The study demonstrates how collaboration between Government, scientists and Bermuda’s fishing community can leverage decades of scientific, environmental and fisheries data to create a practical tool that assists resource managers.”
“Sustainable fisheries management depends on understanding not only what is happening within the fishery, but also the environmental conditions that affect our fishery species,” said Dr Tammy Warren, senior marine resources officer at DENR. “As our ocean changes, integrating different types of evidence will become increasingly important to making informed management decisions.”
The spokesperson said, “The new index can help the Department identify changing conditions earlier and consider appropriate management responses.”
Joanna Pitt of DENR said, “Most fishery monitoring is based on looking at changes in the catch after those changes have happened. The major benefit of this index is that it can give us some advanced warning of changes that are affecting the early life stages of the spiny lobster, so that we can be prepared to adjust our management approaches.”
The spokesperson said, “The complex life cycle of the spiny lobster presents a variety of management challenges. The new index is therefore not intended to replace existing fishery monitoring or management tools, but can complement current approaches, improve forecasts, and support more ecosystem-based fisheries management.
“Read the full scientific article here. The work was funded by a Simons Foundation International grant administered by the Simons Foundation.”
