The relative efficiencies of natural and artificial baits for the lobster, Homarus gammarus: laboratory and field trials

Evaluation of artificial and natural baits for the pot fishery of the sand crab Ovalipes punctatus (De Haan, 1833)

“…Lobster and crabs caused extensive damage to the net envelopes around the artificial gypsum baits (Mackie et al, 1980), and while 20-30% of fish baited pots were empty of bait after 24 h only 7% were missing in those with artificial bait targeting crabs (Dale et al, 2007). In our case the artificial baits were almost completely intact and their performance should be further examined over longer soaking times, as it is common in several crustacean pot fisheries, where they might prove more effective than fish.…”

“…Early field experiments conducted in Scotland (Mackie et al, 1980) demonstrated that it was possible to attract and catch lobster Homarus gammarus and edible crabs Cancer pagurus by releasing a mixture of chemicals or fish extract from an inert support medium (gypsum) in the form of artificial bait. Catches in pots containing artificial baits were 50-100% as high as those baited with flounder Pleuronectes platessa.…”

“…For some unknown reason the artificial bait lured crabs into the pot but was not consumed. Artificial bait provides a promise but no reward of food (Mackie et al, 1980), and there is no information on the amount of animals which escaped from the pot if they did not find anything edible. The collapsible pots employed have had short retention times in non-baited pots with the crabs Portunus pelagicus and Charybdis japonica, with residences of 0.3 and 3 days, respectively (Vazquez Archdale et al, 2007).…”

“…Recycling some of the wastes generated by the fish processing industry into bait for the pot fisheries of several commercial decapod crustaceans has been attempted with some success in the past, and target species included crabs (Dale et al, 2007), spiny lobster (Chanes-Miranda and Viana, 2000), homarid lobster (Mackie et al, 1980) and crayfish (Beecher and Romaire, 2010).…”

Laboratory comparison of American lobster,Homarus americanus, foraging responses to invasive green crab,Carcinus maenas, and two traditional finfish baits

“…Whether seeking natural prey or bait in fishers' traps, lobsters primarily follow odour plumes released from the food source (Mackie 1973;Moore et al 1991). To our knowledge, only two studies have tested the relative attractiveness of natural or artificial baits, with little or no differences found amongst most baits (Mackie et al 1980;Daniel & Bayer 1987a). Instead, efforts have focused on lobster responses to chemical constituents (e.g.…”