The South Coast rock lobster fishery is a deep water fishery targeting the species Palinurus glichristi. These lobsters are found on rocky bottoms at 50-200m depth along the southern coast of South Africa between Cape Point and East London.
Like most lobster species, the South Coast rock lobster is very slow growing. A 70mm carapace length male lobster grows only between 2-4mm each year during the annual moult.
Commercial exploitation by. local and foreign vessels began in 1974. In 1977 foreign vessels withdrew when South Africa declared a 200 nm EEZ.
This paper looks at how TACs are set for and the management of the lobster fishery over the years.
History
Department/Unit
Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Cape Town