Lobster Season Ends March 1st

The Central Bank of Honduras (BCH) reported that 32.3 million dollars worth of lobsters were exported last year, which is 65.6 percent more than in 2009, when the country exported 19.5 million dollars worth. In 2008, the figure reached an all time high of 41.8 million dollars. This however, was mostly due to higher prices in the U.S. market, where 95 percent of Honduran lobsters are sent. Shipments to the US declined rapidly between 2008 and 2009; the result of a slowdown in the local economy.

The lobster industry focuses its activities on the Atlantic coast, where many companies are dedicated to the extraction and export of this marine creature. In order to reduce damage to the seabed, the producers have incorporated new technology to catch the lobsters.

In Honduras, around 130 boats that are registered in Roatan, Guanaja, La Ceiba and Puerto Lempira participate in their capture. Annual production of lobsters varies between 930,000 and 950,000 metric tonnes.

The spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) is one of the most sought after species in Central America and generates around $350 to $400 million per year for the countries that capture it. Given the concern over the over exploitation of this crustacean, the governments of the region of Central America signed Regulation OSP-02-09 in May of 2009, for the “Regional Arrangement of the Lobster Fishery in the Caribbean”, under the Policy for Integration of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

For the first time, last year, the governments of Honduras and other Central American countries agreed to jointly implement a closed season for lobster fishing from March 1st through June 30th of 2010, to protect the resource during its peak reproduction period.

The measure will be applied again this year, beginning March 1st and lasting through June 1st.

By Analia Murias


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