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Editors --- "In Brief" [2002] MarStudies 10; (2002) 123 Maritime Studies 33

• IN BRIEF
• A Feast of Lobsters
• The Economic Value of Marine, Coastal and Ocean Resources

IN BRIEF

A Feast of Lobsters

It was a gourmet’s ultimate fantasy – millions of lobsters, lobsters by the truckload, streaming ashore into the waiting arms of astonished fishermen and researchers. Then there was the gourmet’s nightmare – the government-approved lobster traps that allow almost all their prey to escape, as revealed by researchers using an underwater video camera. And there’s Western Australia’s world-leading method for predicting and managing rock lobster populations – a shining example of cooperation between scientists, managers, and fishers.

These are among the many insights into the mysterious life of nature’s most delectable crustacean, the lobster, in a new book from CSIRO Publishing (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation). ‘Lobster Biology and Management’ is a special issue of the Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, containing the proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Lobster Biology and Management. A South African scientist, Dr Andrew Cockroft, reported the lobster mass-suicides. Five have been observed in recent years, involving the stranding of an estimated total of 2,263 tons of lobsters. They were triggered by ‘red tides’ – massive blooms of toxic dinoflagellates – that deplete the oxygen in the deeper waters, forcing the desperate crustaceans into a ‘last gasp’ migration into the shallows where they are stranded by the tide. Anxious researchers rescued several tons of lobsters and trucked them along the coast to an unaffected area where they were released back into the sea.

U.S. scientists studying the behaviour of lobsters in traps, using a video camera, discovered the ‘trap that wasn’t.’ It turned out the lobsters were a lot smarter than the people who designed the traps – only six per cent of those that entered were actually caught, while 94 per cent got away. And those that actually entered the trap were only four per cent of all the lobsters that approached it! The trap used was the U.S. government’s officially approved lobster catching device, underlining the fact that officialdom doesn’t know a lot about lobster behaviour. Furthermore, of the escaping lobsters, 72 per cent exited by the ‘front door’ – which they should not have been able to do.

Australian fisheries and marine scientists contributed 20 per cent of the papers to ‘Lobster Biology and Management’, the second largest contribution by any country after the United States. The special issue of Marine & Freshwater Research, ‘Lobster Biology and Management’, is available from CSIRO Publishing for $95. Contact Ann Grant, CSIRO Publishing, e-mail ann.grant@csiro.au or visit www.publish.csiro.au/.

The Economic Value of Marine, Coastal and Ocean Resources

The federal and provincial governments of Canada and Newfoundland respectively have recently released the results of a joint study estimating the economic value of marine, coastal and ocean resources of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the first study of its kind ever conducted in the province. It is of interest in Australia as the National Oceans Office is understood to be considering work of a similar nature to support the implementation of Australia’s Oceans Policy and regional marine planning.

The Newfoundland Department of Finance (Economics and Statistics Branch) conducted the study for Fisheries and Oceans Canada with support from the provincial departments of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Environment. The report – Estimating the Value of the Marine, Coastal and Oceans Resources of Newfoundland and Labrador – is based on data from 1997-1999. It examined seven private sector industry groupings and the expenditures of more than 30 federal and provincial public sector departments and agencies. The study concludes that oceans-related activity, including spin-off benefits, accounted for 26.5 per cent of total gross domestic product in the province over this period.

‘Canada is an ocean nation whose economy, environment and culture are inextricably linked to the oceans and that is particularly true in Newfoundland and Labrador,’ said Robert G. Thibault, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. ‘This research confirms what we’ve always suspected about the importance of the oceans sector.’

‘The most significant industries in terms of GDP were offshore oil and the fishery which, combined, accounted for 75 per cent of the oceans sector GDP impact,’ said Joan Marie Aylward, the provincial Minister of Finance.

‘This report is an excellent example of collaboration between both orders of government and cooperation of departments within each level of government,’ said Gerry Reid, the provincial Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. ‘This data will help both levels of government develop policy and make management decisions for the future.’

The oceans sector includes the following industries: oil and gas; fishery; aquaculture; shipbuilding and ship repair; marine tourism and recreation; marine transportation and infrastructure (including ports and harbours); and oceans technologies (marine IT, communications, environment biotechnology).

The study found that oceans-related activity accounted for 44,400 person years, or almost 23 per cent of total employment in the province during the 1997-1999 period. The largest private sector employers were the offshore oil industry and the fishery which, combined, accounted for 69 per cent of the total oceans-related employment.

The study also provides baseline and benchmark data from which future trends and growth can be measured, and from which statistics and other information to develop policy can be derived. The study area included the coastline and inshore water areas, as well as activity in offshore areas.

The research examined both industries that extract ocean resources, such as oil production and the fishery, and industries that use the ocean as a medium of movement, operation or innovation.

Two economic analysis tools of the Department of Finance – the Newfoundland and Labrador Econometric Model and the provincial Input-Output Model – were used to determine economic impacts.

The report is available on the web at: http://www.economics.gov.nf.ca/