Field Grow-out of Juvenile American Lobsters in Long Island Sound

Early benthic stage American lobsters, Homarus americanus, were held in a pilot nursery system in Long Island Sound (LIS) to test field grow-out, as a step toward potential stock enhancement. A larger size upon release may increase the probability of survival. Lobsters were placed individually in perforated plastic mesh cylindrical "habitats" and each habitat was housed in an outer protective sleeve with a larger mesh size. During June 2013, twenty-four lobsters were transferred to each of 3 wire-mesh cages and deployed southwest of Charles Island in Milford, Connecticut (N=3). The only source of nutrition was naturally occurring organisms. Cages were retrieved monthly and lobsters were photographed to measure changes in carapace length (CL). After 11 months in the field, lobsters increased 92% in mean size from 6.0 to 11.6 mm CL, with 70.8 % overall survival. Head-starting of early benthic stage lobsters shows promise as a tool for possible future stock enhancement in LIS.