Relative Egg Production and Abundance of Berried Lobsters, Homarus americanus, in the Bay of Fundy and off Southwestern Nova Scotia

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Abstract
The relative abundance of berried female lobsters, Homarus americanus, and their contribution to total egg production in various areas of the Bay of Fundy and off southwestern Nova Scotia are estimated from sampling commercial and research cruise catches from traps. Concentrations of berried females occurred on Browns Bank, Georges Bank, and the New Brunswick side of the Bay of Fundy. To a lesser extent, berried females occurred in the coastal areas of southwestern Nova Scotia. Using a range of mortality values, a variety of population sizes were estimated from 1983 landings from which relative egg production values were calculated for each area. Lobsters from coastal waters of southwestern Nova Scotia combined with the Bay of Fundy were estimated to produce between 23 and 53% and those from the offshore Brown and eastern Georges Banks to produce between 47 and 77% of the region's total egg production. The results suggest that lobsters in each area are capable of producing large numbers of eggs. Where the resulting planktonic larvae settle as benthic juveniles is unclear.