Aquaculture of lobsters in Senegal
Spiny lobsters of the family Palinuridae are one of the world's most valuable seafood with great market importance in Asia, Europe and America. However, most lobster fisheries are either over-exploited and in decline or are being managed for their maximum sustainable yield. Aquaculture appears to be the only long term way of meeting market demand for spiny lobsters and in many areas save wild populations from threats of extinction.
Aquaculture of spiny lobsters, in particular the Royal (Green) lobster, in Senegal is likely to be a prosperous venture. This is because there seem to be a stable wild population off the Senegal coast that would sustain collection of seed for on growing in cages. Further, the Royal lobster belongs to the genus Panulirus of which a few species have been very successfully cultured in captivity. One of the most successful aquaculture of spiny lobsters has been done using the species P. ornatus. In Viet Nam for example, where culture production of P. ornatus amounts to 1000 tonnes annually, lobsters are cultured in floating or fixed net sea cages in protected bays or lagoons that have a good tidal flow. Lobsters attain a typical harvest weight of 1 kg within 18 months from initial stocking. Survival of lobsters from stocking juveniles (5 to 10 g) into grow-out cages is typically 90%. Since the Royal lobster (P. regius) has been shown to be both morphologically and genetically relatively closely related to P. ornatus it is very likely that they have similar ecological attributes and therefore the potential of using the Royal lobster in aquaculture venture must be regarded good or very good.
Menntun is carrying out a feasibility study of lobster aquaculture in Senegal in collaboration with the World Fish Center and the following local counterparts: CRODT/ISRA (Centre de Recherche Océanographique de Dakar Thiaroye/Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles), DPCA (Direction de la Pêche Continentale et de l’Aquaculture) and l'Agence REVA (RETOUR VERS L’AGRICULTURE). The study which commenced in December 2007 and is planned to last for 14 months is funded by the Spanish Agency of Cooperation (AECI), within its NAUTA Program.
The overall aim of the project is to assess the feasibility of lobster aquaculture in coastal areas of Senegal to alleviate poverty and creating job opportunities for the coastal communities
The main objectives of the project are :
To identify locations with relatively high concentrations of lobster larvae (pueruli) and assess their seasonal abundance.
To identify methods and equipment best suited for collecting pueruli larvae.
On-growing experiments in sea-cages in a location of optimal environmental conditions to identify factors that are likely to affect the growth and survival of the larvae.
To identify the socio-economic benefits for initiating aquaculture of lobsters in Senegal.