ON THE GROWTH OF THE EUROPEAN SPINY LOBSTER, PALINURUS ELEPHAS (FABRICIUS, 1787) FROM SARDINIAN WATERS (CENTRAL WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA)

Growth of spiny lobsters Palinurus elephas was investigated using tagging data. A total of 4044 lobsters were tagged and released between 1997 and 2004 in an area off central-western Sardinia, Italy, where fishing is banned. The growth increments of 248 lobsters, recaptured inside the no-take area and in the surrounding zones, were recorded and analysed with two different procedures, and von Bertalanffy growth parameters were estimated for each sex. Males showed a higher asymptotic carapace length than females (167.9 versus 120.2 mm). Growth increments recorded inside and outside the no-take area did not reveal any density-dependent effects on females. Small but non-significant differences were evident for males, showing faster growth in lobsters caught outside the no-take area.