Brazil defines catch limits for spiny lobster fishery

Brazil's Standing Committee on Lobster Management has agreed to set a global catch limit for Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and smoothtail spiny lobster (Panulirus laevicauda) in the country’s fishery.According to CeDePesca, an NGO with the mission of helping Latin American fisheries work toward more sustainable practices, the move was momentous, as it came after 13 years of work already put in under a lobster fishery improvement project (FIP) in the country.The total allowable catch (TAC) was set at 6,192 metric tons for the two species. In turn, the Brazil Ministry of Fisheries resolved that fishing operations will be suspended when 95 percent of that limit is reached.CeDePesca Brazil Director Rochelle Cruz said the country's lobster industry, the majority of which is involved in the FIP, has expressed acceptance of the implementation of the TAC.“The implementation of the catch limit renews the feeling of hope for a better future for the management system. We know we ...