''Jasus edwardsii'', the southern rock lobster, red rock lobster, or spiny rock lobster, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of spiny lobster found throughout coastal waters of southern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

including the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

. It is commonly called ''crayfish'' in Australia and New Zealand and ' in

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

. They resemble

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

s, but lack the large characteristic pincers on the first pair of walking legs. Spiny rock lobsters are

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

, leaving their rock cover to venture out to feed during the night. They live in and around reefs at depths ranging from deep at the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

. They can be dark red and orange above with paler yellowish abdomens or grey-green brown with the paler underside. The more tropical animals tend to have the brighter colours. Adult

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

s can grow up to in length and can often exceed in underfished areas.

Distribution

''Jasus edwardsii'' is found around most of the coast of

, including the three main islands, the

Three Kings Islands 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...

, the

Snares Islands The Snares Islands / Tini Heke, known colloquially as The Snares, is a group of uninhabited islands lying about 200 km south of New Zealand's South Island and to the south-southwest of Stewart Island / Rakiura. The Snares consist of the m ...

, the

Bounty Islands The Bounty Islands ( mi, Moutere Hauriri; "Island of angry wind") are a small group of 13 uninhabited granite islets and numerous rocks, with a combined area of , in the South Pacific Ocean. Territorially part of New Zealand, they lie about e ...

, the Antipodes Islands and the Auckland Islands. This last locality is the southernmost place where spiny lobsters occur in the world. In Australia, ''J. edwardsii'' is found around the southern coast, from central

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to southern

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, including

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Life cycle

Adults are sexually mature at between 7 and 11 years, mating occurs during late summer and autumn. Eggs develop on females, which carry between 100,000 and 500,000 eggs which are fertilised and held below the tail on hairs on the female's

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

. The eggs develop here for 3 to 5 months. Eggs then metamorphose into naupliosoma larva which leave the female and are free swimming plankton which migrate towards the surface where they moult into a phyllosoma larva. The rock lobster has among the longest larval development known for any marine creature. The ''phyllosoma'' ( Greek for "leaf-like") larvae spend between 9 months to 2 years in oceanic waters before metamorphosing to the post larval stage, known as the puerulus, which then swims towards the coast to settle.

Size

Maximum total body length is 58 cm (males), and 43 cm (females); maximum carapace lengths 23.5 cm (males), 18 cm (females); minimum legal carapace lengths 10 cm (males), and 9 cm (females).

Aquaculture

The potential for ''Jasus edwardsii'' to become an

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

species in New Zealand is high. Although not commercially farmed yet, this species of lobster has a wild seed stock available and already some commercial companies are harvesting and on growing this seed stock. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has reared individuals from egg to adult, showing that it is possible to grow this species in captivity, although it takes between 200–400 days to reach maturity. This species is also a potential aquaculture species in Australia. There is already a well established export of wild rock lobster from Australia, especially Southern Australia which currently lands just over 3000 tonnes a year. An aquaculture of this species would serve to bulk up the wild catch and add value with high quality grown lobsters. South Australia currently does have limited aquaculture of ''Jasus edwardsii'', keeping legal sized individuals from the fishery in cages in Kangaroo Island to make them available in the off season, ensuring a year-round supply to market, although no aquaculture from juveniles or eggs is done yet.

Food

NIWA used primarily brine shrimp to feed the juvenile lobsters, but little is known about a preferred food source. Chopped up mussel flesh has been used previously in Japan. Both these techniques carry some potential disadvantages – brine shrimp can introduce disease, and mussels deteriorate once introduced to the water, giving bacteria an environment to grow on. A study has shown that mussels provide the best food along with a carbohydrate source in the form of agar, allowing faster grow rates in the lobster.

Techniques

The most promising technique for aquaculture in New Zealand is sea cages. These have been successfully used internationally to grow similar species. In Vietnam sea cages are used to grow large amounts of '' Panulirus ornatus'' (ornate spiny lobster) in excess of 1,500 t valued at US$90 million. This species is also commercially cultured in Indonesia and the Philippines. There are three main types of sea cage – floating, wooden fixed, and submerged. *Floating cages as the name suggests are floating, nets are supported by floating buoys which are connected using a frame. They are often far above the seabed in waters deep in calm bays. This type of cage is used in Nga Trang Bay in Vietnam. Wooden fixed cages are near the bottom, or on the bottom of the sea and each net is attached to salt resistant wooden stakes driven into the ground in squares with nets between them. These may be on the seabed with sand covering the bottom of the cage. These cages are used in Van Phong Bay in Vietnam. *Submerged cages are sealed cubic cages with feeding holes in one end that are attached to the seabed. Similar to crab and crayfish pots used to catch adults. These cages are used in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. Often the materials used to make these cages are sourced locally, in the form of nets from fishing, wood and other framing materials and floats. *There has been experimental work done in New Zealand with suspended cages which resulted in good grow rates and survivability as long as suitable sites are picked.

Sites

The sites for lobster farms should be in shallow water (not exceeding 20 m) and sheltered from currents and swell as well as potential strong winds. Often behind islands and in sheltered bays are the best sites as the sea cages are easily damaged by swell and high winds. Also the type of sea cage affects the site, floating and submerged cages can be in deeper water, and wooden fixed cages have to be in water only a few metres deep.

Seed stock

Due to the time it takes larva to develop (up to two years) the most cost-effective method of lobster aquaculture is to harvest wild pueruli. This has been done in Vietnam and has been done previously in New Zealand. This would allow a faster grow time to adults as the caught juvenile will have already had months of growth before being put in cages for aquaculture. There is a good source of pueruli in New Zealand (in places like Gisborne) and research into effective catching of pueruli is currently being done. Research suggests a 'bottle brush' collector as the most effective way, a mesh material attached to a PVC core resembling a bottle brush. The maximum

sustainable yield The sustainable yield of natural capital is the ecological yield that can be extracted without reducing the base of capital itself, i.e. the surplus required to maintain ecosystem services at the same or increasing level over time. The term only ...

of this seed stock is unknown and research will have to be carried out to determine this before an industry can be founded.

Market

This species provides New Zealand with a high price point aquaculture species in an industry dominated by low price species. New Zealand baited pot wild lobsters earn approximately $180 million per annum which is limited by the

Quota Management System The Quota Management System (QMS) is a type of individual fishing quota that is used in New Zealand to manage fish stocks. New Zealand fishing industry Seafood is one of New Zealand's largest export markets, with 85% of catches being exported. Over ...

to a total allowable commercial catch (TACC) of 2,981 metric tonnes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3163042 Achelata Edible crustaceans Commercial crustaceans Crustaceans described in 1875 Marine crustaceans of New Zealand Taxa named by Frederick Hutton (scientist) New Zealand seafood Māori cuisine