South Coast Lobster Tail

Sustainability

The South Coast rock lobster. Otherwise known as the Southern spiny lobster, they live at greater depths than their relatives the West Coast Rock Lobster. Commonly found at depths of between 55m and 360m, these deep-sea crustaceans occur from Cape Town to East London as well as off the coasts of Madagascar. They feed predominantly on mussels but are also scavengers. Due to the deep-sea nature of their habitat, the South Coast rock lobster is caught using baited traps lowered using long ropes. 

Harvesting of the species is capital intensive as large vessels are needed to access the richest fishing grounds. This means that harvesting of the South Coast rock lobster is limited to the commercial sector, with minimal poaching taking place. 

 An effective and well-researched total allowable catch was implemented in 1984 limiting the number of individuals caught. In addition, foreign vessels were banned as well as the harvesting of egg-bearing females. In 2000 further regulations were put in place to limit the number of days a vessel could spend at sea harvesting the South Coast rock lobster. Scientists also often spend time on the fishing vessels observing catches and ensuring compliance with the regulations. Furthermore, when the vessels offload their catches, a compliance officer is required to count and weigh the catch. These measures allowed for excessive exploitation of the species to be avoided and prevented the population from crashing. 

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature the population of the South Coast rock lobster is increasing. Management of the species aims to increase the weight of mature adults by 20% in the next 20 years.