West Coast Rock Lobster

West coast rock lobster (Jasus lalandii) are slow-growing, long-lived animals. Female size at maturity varies and ranges from 57 millimetres carapace length (CL) to 66 millimetres CL. Male lobsters attain a larger size and grow faster than females. As a result of the size limit of 75 mm CL that is imposed on commercial fishers, male lobsters make up 90 to 99 percent of the catch. West Coast rock lobster occur inside the 200m depth contour from just north of Walvis Bay in Namibia to East London. Commercial exploitation occurs from about 25 S in Namibia to Gansbaai on the Cape south coast. However, recreational fishing extends further eastwards to Mossel Bay.

The current harvestable biomass is estimated at around eight percent of the pre-exploitation levels and spawning biomass at approximately 21 percent. This decline is largely a result of two effects: large unsustainable catches taken particularly during the first half of the 20th century and a substantial reduction in the somatic growth rate during the 1990's.

Commercial fishing began in the 1880's. The commercial fishery expanded rapidly in the early part of the 20th century. Although catch records prior to 1940 are sparse, catches appear to have peaked in the period 1950 to 1965, when between 13 000 and 16 000 tons were landed annually.

Prior to 1946, the commercial fishery was unregulated. In that year, a tail-mass production quota was imposed to control exports. This formed the basis of the "output-controlled" management philosophy that is still employed in the management of the west coast rock lobster resource today.

From 1946 onwards, annual quotas were granted, based primarily on the performance of the fishery in the preceding season. Until the mid-1960's, catches were directly controlled by these quotas. In the 1967/68 fishing season, catch rates began to decline and quotas could not be filled. Decreases in the Total Allowable Catch ("TAC") to between 4 000 and 6 000 tons restored some balance in the period 1970/71 to 1989/90.

The tail-mass production quota was replaced by a whole lobster (landed mass) quota, and management by means of a TAC was introduced in the early 1980's. Area or zonal allocations were introduced at the same time. Other management measures that were enforced early on were size limits and a closed season. Catches of berried or soft-shelled lobsters were banned. The 1990/91 season again saw the catch rates drop and, in the ensuing years, the commercial TAC was gradually reduced, reaching 1 500 tons in the 1995/96 season. Since then, there has been a slow recovery, with the commercial TAC being set at 3 527 tons for the 2004/2005 season.

Prior to the introduction of lobster traps in the 1960's, the commercial fishery depended almost exclusively on hand-hauled, hoopnets, which are light and easy to deploy from small boats in shallow waters. Hoopnets are seldom used at depths exceeding 30 metres. Hoopnet dinghies may either operate independently from the shore by means of an outboard motor or oars, or be transported to the fishing grounds by means of a motorized mother vessel (deckboat).

The west coast rock lobster fishery is made up of two distinct sectors: a commercial fishery and a recreational fishery. Recreational users may only fish using hoopnets from a boat or the shore, or practice breath-hold diving or poling from the shore. Recreational fishers may not sell their catch.

The WCRL (offshore) fishery is permitted to catch rock lobster in traps. In the medium-term rights allocation process, right-holders in this fishery were granted allocations of more than two tons each.

Right-holders in the WCRL (offshore) fishery use larger, more sophisticated vessels than right-holders in the WCRL (nearshore) fishery, which is restricted to using hoopnets in shallow water. The WCRL (offshore) fishery also employs larger numbers of crew.

The WCRL (nearshore) fishery replaced the subsistence fishery in 2001 in keeping with the recommendations of an independent review of subsistence fishing in South Africa. The review recommended that high-value subsistence fisheries such as west coast rock lobster, traditional linefish and abalone should be commercialised. The commercialisation of these fisheries has permitted fishers to sell and market their products.

The Department allocates 20 percent of the commercial west coast rock lobster TAC to the nearshore fishery and 80 percent to the offshore fishery. The reason for this split is that approximately 20 percent of the resource is located in the inshore region, while 80 percent is located offshore in deeper waters

West coast rock lobster fishing takes place between November and July. The annual value of west coast rock lobster catches is approximately R200 million. The west coast rock lobster fishery has been particularly well managed and, since 1997, it has seen steady increases in the total allowable catch. In 2003, the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism declared a total allowable catch for the commercial harvesting of rock lobster in the area east of Cape Hangklip. The Department continues to manage this fishery in terms of precautionary management principles. Accordingly, the TAC for the 2005/2006 season has been reduced.