The more that is understood about the factors controlling the abundance of an exploited fish stock, the more optimally it can be harvested for sustainable yield and profit. It has been known for some time that catches of western rock lobster are closely related to the number of larvae surviving...

The fishery for western lobster (Panulirus cygnus) has supported an annual catch of about 10,500 tonnes per annum over the last twenty years and is worth between $200-300 million per annum. The fishery has been experiencing increasing exploitation rates over time and estimates in the early 1990s...