North Cape — a ‘nursery area’ for the packhorse rock lobster,Jasus verreauxi(Deeapoda: Palinuridae)

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Abstract
In the North Cape area (34°26'S, 173°07'E) there appears to be a concentration of late juvenile packhorse rock lobsters, Jasus verreauxi (H. Milne Edwards'), which subsequently contributes significantly to the nearby fishery for adult J. verreauxi off Cape Reinga. Evidence for this is based on the overall smaller size and fewer mature rock lobsters at North Cape compared to areas nearby, and on the results of tagging experiments carried out during 1976–77. Rock lobsters tagged at North Cape moved 21–514 km, mainly west and south, before recapture at minimum rates of 0.03–2.00 krn.d‐1. For females at least, the movement away from North Cape usually occurs at about the time that sexual maturity is attained. Rock lobsters tagged near Cape Reinga moved 3–34 km west at minimum rates of 0.04–0.35 km.d‐1. Although the closure of the North Cape grounds to rock lobster fishing restricts the taking of the small number of legal‐sized fish available in the area, the restriction ensures less mortality and damage to the undersized fish due to handling.