Effect of Caribbean Spiny Lobster Traps on Seagrass Beds of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary:Damage Assessment and Evaluation of Recovery

摘要

In the Florida Keys, traps for spiny lobsters (also known as Caribbean spiny lobster) Panulirus argus are often deployed in seagrass beds. Given that several hundred thousand traps may be deployed in one fishing season, the possibility exists for significant impacts to seagrass resources. The question was whether standard fishing practices observed in the fishery actually resulted in injuries to seagrass. This study was designed to measure the degree of injury to seagrass as a function of trap deployment duration (soak time) and habitat type (seagrass species) and the recovery of seagrass following trap removal. Aspects of the deployment and retrieval process were not examined. Sampling grids composed of 30 3-m x 3-m squares were arbitrarily established within each of three monospecific seagrass beds (two of Thalassia testudinum and one of Syringodium filiforme) near Marathon, Florida. Five squares within each grid remained trap-free (controls) while the remaining squares each received a single tra