Abundance, Size Structure, and Sex Ratio Variation of West Coast Rock Lobster (Jasus lalandii) in Cultivated and Natural Kelp Forests off Lüderitz, Namibia
Description
The data sets contain the raw excel data set for the study titled "Abundance, Size Structure, and Sex Ratio Variation of West Coast Rock Lobster (Jasus lalandii) in Cultivated and Natural Kelp Forests off Lüderitz, Namibia". Lobster sampling was conducted between September 2024 and April 2025, aligned with the Namibian lobster fishing season. Information contained in the file include 1) Raw carapacece lengths in millimeters, 2) Sex assigned at birth M= males and F=females 3) Date of retrieval deployment highloighted yellow 4) Months of sampling at the bottom 5) graphs of size structure for each month and site 6) normality testing of the data and lastly 7) each row represents a single lobster sampled.
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Steps to reproduce
Lobster sampling was conducted between September 2024 and April 2025, aligned with the Namibian lobster fishing season. Six commercial lobster traps (modified with 15mm mesh to capture both juveniles and adults) were deployed per sampling event, three at each site (SWB and DIAZ). Traps were baited with frozen horse mackerel (Trachurus capensis) and deployed in a stratified random design for soak times of 24-48 hours. Upon retrieval, the total number of lobsters was recorded. For each individual, the carapace length (CL) was measured to the nearest 0.02 mm using vernier calipers, and sex was determined by examining genital pores, which are positioned on the 3rd pair of legs for females and on the 5th pair for males. All lobsters were handled according to Namibia's Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) best-practice guidelines and returned to the sea after processing. A fisheries inspector accompanied retrieval events to ensure compliance. Water quality parameters (Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, pH) were recorded at each sampling event using a HANNA multi-parameter sonde.
Institutions
- University of Namibia