Efficiency Of Bait Usage In The Nova Scotia Lobster Fishery: A First Look

摘要

In studies of commercial fishing,little attention has been paid to the use of bait.We examined lobster fishery bait-to-catch ratios in St.Margaret's Bay and Mahone Bay,Nova Scotia.Data were obtained from the Fishermen and Scientists Research Society's Lobster Recruitment Project.Local ecological knowledge of the resource users from within the study area was also gathered using semi-structured interviews.The estimated amount of bait required to catch each lobster,weighing about 480 g,ranged from 185 g (November) to 1455 g (April) for average months during the 2002/3,2003/4 and 2004/5 fishing seasons.We estimated the overall ratio of bait-to-catch to be about 1.9 units of bait per unit of catch.The eco-efficiency and food-supply implications of consuming more bait than product in a fishery are outlined.