Report of the Working Group on Homarus Stocks

In both Canada and USA the american lobster (Homarus americanus) is the most valuable marine species on the Atlantic coast. The average catch in recent years has been about 13 500 tonnes in USA and 18 000 tonnes in Canada. In both countries the catches on the inshore grounds have fallen. In Canada the 1973 and 1974 catches of about 14 500 tonnes a year are about 37% below the peak catches of 23 000 tonnes a year in 1956 and 1960. In Maine, USA in the last 5 years there has been a 71% increase in fishing effort and a 9% decrease in landings. These falls in catches and catch rates have to some extent been masked by the development of an offshore fishery, in depths up to 300 fathoms, in Canada using traps and in USA using traps and otter trawls.