…Save what’s left, and make more

The lobster season in Jamaica is now closed. The closed season gives these interesting and valuable creatures time to shed their shells so they can grow, and to breed in peace. This little bit of protection, which has been in place for a long time, may be part of the reason why the lobster population hasn’t been wiped out along with most of Montego Bay’s other marine life.

The Caribbean spiny lobster is the most visible of the Jamaica lobsters  Their social habits mean that they are often seen by divers and snorkelers, gathered in groups under ledges.  There are at least three other lobster species on our reefs.  They are generally smaller, more solitary and well hidden in the daytime, but they play a similar part in the life of the reef.

The Caribbean spiny lobster has a smaller, prettier cousin, the spotted or “chicken” spiny lobster.  It has the same general shape, with one pair of antennae overgrown to almost the length of its body.  However, it only grows about eight inches long, less than half the top size of its bigger relative.  It’s generally darker, sometimes almost black, and it’s covered in little white spots with hints of blue and yellow.  The spots look flashy in divers’ pictures, but actually help this little lobster blend into the background in dim light on the sea floor.

The ugly cousin is the Spanish lobster, one of a group called “slipper” or “bug” lobsters for their unusual body shape.  It can grow to about a foot long, and the back end looks like a short, fat lobster.  At the front, a pair of antennae have flattened and rounded into hard plates, making its head look like a sow-bug.  These plates give the Spanish lobster extra protection from predators, and together with its dark green-and-brown colouring, help it to hide (looking like just another rock) during the day.

The beauty of the group is the red-banded or “peppermint” lobster.  It’s prized by underwater photographers for its striking colour – shades of red, orange and cream.  It’s also the only warm-water lobster with real claws.  It’s small, with an average body length of 4-6 inches, and solitary, living in secure holes a bit further off shore than its spiny and Spanish cousins.

All of these lobsters are an important part of the food chain – almost everything bigger than they are finds them delicious.  In turn they eat, hunting at night for bottom-dwelling creatures like worms and snails.  They are  also the reef’s clean-up crew, scavenging bits of dead stuff left over from other hunters’ meals.

Closed seasons and no-take zones are not enough to make sure that our lobsters survive and prosper.  At all ages, they need clean water.  The baby lobsters need mangroves and seagrass beds to hide in while they grow.  Too many of these valuable nursery areas have been chopped down, ripped up and flooded with mud and pollution, to make room for resorts where guests complain about the high price of lobster.  If we really want healthy marine life, including lots of big lobsters, the process has to start with better management on land.