Growth of rock lobsters (Jasus edwardsii)in Fiordland, New Zealand

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Abstract
Moulting periods, growth per moult, annual and long‐term growth, moult frequency, and growth rates were estimated for recaptured Jasus edwardsii tagged between Thompson and Caswell Sounds in Fiordland, New Zealand. Males grew faster than females, and both showed a progressively decreasing growth rate. For females immature at tagging and recapture, there was no relationship between growth per moult or annual growth and size. For females immature at tagging and mature at recapture, and for mature females, there was a significant decrease in growth per moult and annual growth with an increase in size. Some immature females moulted twice each year and others once, while all mature females moulted once. Empirical growth curves were better descriptors of the growth of females than the von Bertalanfiy curve, especially for smaller and younger individuals. For males there was no relationship between growth per moult and size; however, there was a significant decrease in moult frequency and annual growth with an increase in size. The empirical and von Bertalanfiy curves provided a reasonable approximation of size at age for males.

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