Report Tagged Lobsters

[Mikey]

Report Tagged Lobsters

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Lobster season is about to open and we need to help in gathering data about lobster movement. Will lobster really "spillover" as advertised and how far do the really move? Little is know about these lobster habits so this is our chance to help in gathering some important information to inform the scientists. Here is some information I received from San Diego Oceans Foundation who is working with commercial lobster fishermen to tag lobsters to study their movement patterns:

In September 2011, about 5,000 California spiny lobsters were tagged off the coasts of Laguna, Point Loma, and La Jolla in waters scheduled to become marine protected areas. This is the first stage in a three year project that is funded by California Sea Grant to monitor the movements of the lobster. Legals and shorts were tagged.

If a tagged lobster is caught, fisherman should record the location (GPS coordinates or site description) and the tag number. Later they can enter the information at our website www.taggedlobster.com or call our office at 619-523-1903 and leave a message. Do not remove the tag from the lobster (unless of course it is a legal that you are keeping it). In April 2012 tagging and recapture efforts will continue. Our project milestones will be available to the public on the website.

This is our chance to help get information to scientists on this important fishery. Here is a pic of a tagged lobster