Image courtesy of ©RASAR
EXPERT TOPIC
LOBSTER
EXPERT TOPIC Lobster
by Dr David Fletcher, RAS Aquaculture Research Ltd, UK
Developing hatchery technology for the European Spiny Lobster, Palinurus elephas
L
obsters are among the most popular premium seafood species on the global market. Wild harvests are approximately 232 thousand tonnes-per-annum with about 66 percent of the trade comprising Homarus and Nephrops species. The Palinurid spiny lobsters account for about 32 percent of wild production (FAO 2017). The wild harvest of lobsters has reached maximum sustainable yield and, in some cases, exceeded it, based on the progressively declining harvest of some species (Sibeni & Calderini 2012). The American lobster, H. americanus, accounts for about 60 percent of world lobster landings and the average unit value is US $20 per kg, compared to around $10 per kg for shrimp and below $5 per kg for finfish. World trade in lobster was over 170,000 tonnes in 2014 valued at $3.3 billion, almost double that of 13 years earlier (FAO, 2017). Chinese lobster imports grew strongly between 2009 to 2014, from 3,600 tonnes to almost 18,000 tonnes, respectively with the US and Canada accounting for about 60 percent of total Chinese imports of H. americanus. The lobster imported into China mainly enters the domestic market, especially its upscale segment. 72 percent of total supply to China in 2017 was Homarus – 28 percent live spiny lobster species. Global landings of spiny lobster (Panulirus spp.) species are about 73,000 tonnes (FAO, 2017) and in general demand much higher prices in the Chinese and European markets. Again China is a focus for all lobster exporters from Australia and New Zealand (Ong & Mulvany, 2015) and while export volumes for rock lobster to China were increasing in the decade to 2015 prices were not significantly affected and the price trend continued to increase (Western Australian Department of Fisheries / Economic Research Associates Pty Ltd, 2015). Unitary prices paid in China for spiny lobster species were well above the world average; spiny lobster from New Zealand fetching almost $90/kg, and from Mexico and South Africa, an average of $40/kg (FAO 2017). Annual landings of European lobster, Homarus gammarus, have averaged 3,000 tonnes over the last decade. With the main producers being the UK, Ireland and France. Depending on season, live H. gammarus costs up to twice as much as the closely related American species, H. americanus, whose catches had been increasing annually until 2017 when the globally important Maine fishery saw a 17 percent decline in landings. There is significant concern about the future of this fishery with climate change believed to be the main factor responsible for a range of problems from increased disease of adults to failed juvenile recruitment (Groner et al., 2018; Waller et al., 2017). Indeed, numerous and varied impacts of climate change have already been described negatively impacting a broad range of lobster species (Briones-Fourza´n & Lozano-A´lvarez, 2015) including palinurid lobsters. 40 | November 2019 - International Aquafeed