Reporting of visible anchor tags by commercial fishers is believed to be biased in some circumstances. There is therefore a need to develop a fishery independent technique of identifying the origin of migrating whites lobsters so as to address the extent of movements of these animals between management zones, without having to rely on visible tags.

The bait used in the Western Rock Lobster industry consists largely of frozen fish of which 18,000 Tonnes are used annually. Of this, 15,000 Tonnes are imported and consist of Sardines, Blue Mackerel, Jack Mackerel, Herring and Australian Salmon (from New Zealand). The lobster season is from 15th November to 30th June and most of the fish used must be stored frozen to meet the seasonal demand. Apart from the cost of the bait per se there are significant costs in transporting the bait to the pots and a significant level of wastage, as bait, once thawed, cannot be re-frozen.

In order for the bait which has been developed, to become a realistic and reliable proposition for commercial manufacture, elements of its formulation, shape and processing technique need to be further defined.

With the increasing interest of lobster processors to keep lobsters for extended time periods prior to sale, and of the lobster industry in general in lobster aquaculture, there is a need for information on lobster health management. It is well recognised that a range of diseases and conditions occur in wildstock lobsters (Evans & Brock, 1994) and that health management problems are likely to be encountered in enhancement and aquaculture of spiny rock lobsters. In order to prevent disease outbreaks, or effectively deal with such conditions should they occur, reference material is required for use by personnel involved in enhancement and aquaculture programs. At present there is very little published information on health management of spiny rock lobsters held in captivity. A valuable first step to address this need would be the publication of a manual describing the approach to be used to investigate lobster health problems along with photographic material on disease conditions likely to occur in captive lobsters. Such a manual would be used by operators of holding/culture facilities or by fish health personnel involved in disease investigations. An autopsy manual with illustrations of common parasitic and disease conditions found in Australian lobsters would also be of interest to lobster fishers.

One of the conditions most likely to occur in captive lobsters is bacterial infections by opportunistic pathogens, those bacteria which are ubiquitous and only cause disease when the lobster is weak or when a particularly virulent strain of bacteria is encountered. It is well known that crustaceans can harbour bacteria in their body fluids apparently without causing the animal any harm. Whether the presence of bacteria in the hemolymph of lobsters is indicative of the likelihood of disease outbreaks and future stock mortality is not well understood. In addition to publication of a lobster autopsy manual, this project will provide information which will contribute to understanding and managing bacterial infections in captive lobsters. The information will be obtained from bacterial challenge experiments conducted on lobsters held in aquaria in the laboratory. These experiments will also provide descriptive material for inclusion in the lobster autopsy manual.

The techniques and information described in the autopsy manual can be used to investigate possible problems arising from mortalities of unknown causes, as well provide fishers and factory staff with a reference to consult when lobsters with health problems are encountered during fishing and processing. The autopsy manual will be of value to fish pathologists for use in disease diagnosis as well as to fishers, fish processors and researchers.
Evans L.H. & Brock J.A. 1994. Diseases on spiny lobsters. In "Spiny Lobster Management (Ed. B.F. Phillips, J.S. Cobb & J. Kittaka) pp 461-472. Blackwell Scientific Publications.

The autopsy manual will include details of approach to be followed in conducting an autopsy on a lobster, descriptions of assay methodology, normal ranges for selected immune and physiological parameters, expected deviations from normal in lobsters subjected to excessive postharvest stressors, photographs of gross and microscopic lesions and descriptions of pathogens observed in apparently healthy lobsters as well as in moribund lobsters.

The changing marketplace and production profile of rock lobster internationally dictates that the Australian rock lobster industry applies state of the art technology in management, research and development, if we are to maintain a competitive position and grow the value of the limited resource.

At present no vehicle exists to allow industry an effective interchange of ideas or to consider leading edge research and development from around the globe. Essentially the Australian lobster industries operate in isolation, disjointed by State borders.

The Tri-State Southern Rock Lobster Conference has historically seen ad hoc attempts made to bring industry together. The conference has evolved into a quasi national event with representatives from most States and New Zealand in attendance, although the primary focus on the jasus edwardsii lobster remains a deficiency.

An outcome of the most recent Tri-State Conference, was a call for a National Lobster Conference including all States and species not covered, to establish a forum for industry Australia wide to make a start at building a national focus on management, marketing, development and problem solving.

At present information flow in these areas are localised trickles at best and the industry has a responsibility to upgrade its role in information exchange.