1253 Sobre A Pesca Da Lagosta-Vermelha, Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804), Na Costa Norte Do Brasil

Resumo

The spiny lobster fishery in Brazil has a high social and economic importance,
whose exploitation began in 1955, in Ceará State, expanding towards Pará and

Amapá States in the mid 1990s. The present paper addresses general aspects of
the fishery for the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804). Data
on carapace length (CL) were obtained on board fishing boats and through sampling
of landings made at harbors along the coastal zone of Pará State, in the period
from July, 2001 to December, 2003. The results show that P. argus is the most
abundant species followed by Scyllarides delfosi, being Bragança and Augusto
Correa the main fishing ports off Northern Brazil. The overall size range was 6.1 –
17.4 cm CL, for males, with an average value of 10.0 cm CL independent of sex.
The sex-ratio was estimated by month and year and the χ2
was applied in order to
assess its statistical significance. In 2001 there was a female predominance (sex
ratio 1.3:1) with significant differences in August, September and December. In
2002 no annual difference was found in the 0,9:1 sex-ratio, but monthly differences
were found in May, July and December. In 2003, there was a balance as shown by
the 1:1 sex-ratio, significant differences occurring only in July. A mean value of 1:1
sex-ratio was estimated for the whole study period.