Attraction and avoidance in marine invertebrates - their possible role in developing an artificial bait

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Abstract
In addition to the well-documented phenomenon of chemical attraction in marine invertebrates, a wide range of avoidance reactions has been recorded. Various scientific and anecdotal observations appear to support the suggestion that the dead remains of certain Crustacea may be repellent to live animals of the same species. In particular, field experiments are reported in which the catches of an Australian rock lobster were greatly reduced by including dead rock lobster with the bait normally used in the traps. It was concluded that the most effective artificial bait would be one which involves not only attraction of the species desired but also repulsion of species which are not, and that the chemical basis for this is to be found in behavioural responses already documented from nature. Attention is also drawn to the role of repulsion, by dead crustacean prey to live individuals of the same species, in catch per unit of effort studies.

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