Panulirus interruptus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	ARTHROPODA	CRUSTACEA	DECAPODA	PALINURIDAE

Scientific Name:

Panulirus interruptus

Species Authority:

(Randall, 1840)

Common Name/s:

English	–	California Spiny Lobster
French	–	Langouste Mexicaine
Spanish	–	Langosta Mexicana

Synonym/s:

Palinurus interruptus Randall, 1840

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2011
Assessor/s:	Butler, M., MacDiarmid, A. & Cockcroft, A.
Reviewer/s:	Collen, B., Livingstone, S. & Richman, N.
Contributor/s:	Batchelor, A., De Silva, R., Dyer, E., Kasthala, G., Lutz, M.L., McGuinness, S., Milligan, H.T., Soulsby, A.-M. & Whitton, F.
Justification: Panulirus interruptus has been assessed as Least Concern. While this species is commercially harvested, the fishery is well regulated and the population is known to be stable. Furthermore, it was recently awarded Marine Stewardship Council certification.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species ranges from southern California, USA to the Bay of Magdalena, Baja California, Mexico, possibly including the Gulf of California (Holthuis 1991).
Countries:	Native: Mexico (Baja California); United States (California)
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Pacific – eastern central
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	This species is commercially harvested as a food source throughout its range. The main fishing grounds are between Cedros Island and Punta Abreojos (most of which is contained within the Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve); 80% of the Mexican landings come from this region (Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006). The catch of this species over the last 20 years in the USA has remained relatively constant at approximately 300 tonnes, while in Mexico it has increased from 1,100 tonnes to 1,700 tonnes. Due to the stringent measures currently in place, the fishery is said to be in a stable state with fluctuations in landings likely as a result of changes in environmental conditions and recruitment levels (Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006).
Population Trend:	Stable

Population:

This species is commercially harvested as a food source throughout its range. The main fishing grounds are between Cedros Island and Punta Abreojos (most of which is contained within the Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve); 80% of the Mexican landings come from this region (Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006). The catch of this species over the last 20 years in the USA has remained relatively constant at approximately 300 tonnes, while in Mexico it has increased from 1,100 tonnes to 1,700 tonnes. Due to the stringent measures currently in place, the fishery is said to be in a stable state with fluctuations in landings likely as a result of changes in environmental conditions and recruitment levels (Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006).

Population Trend:

Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species is found in the littoral zone in tide pools, to depths of 65 m on rocky substrates (Holthuis 1991).
Systems:	Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	There are no major threats impacting upon this species.

Major Threat(s):

There are no major threats impacting upon this species.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Harvest regulations for this species are in place as a result of advice from the Mexican government (Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006). This fishery is regulated by closed fishing seasons, minimum size limits, and limited fishing effort and gear use. Fishery controls seek to maintain half the estimated biomass of the stock (Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006). Voluntary fishing quotas are in place for this species and are adhered to by 95% of fishers (Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006). In 2004, this fishery was awarded Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification (Marine Stewardship Council 2010, Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006).

Conservation Actions:

Harvest regulations for this species are in place as a result of advice from the Mexican government (Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006). This fishery is regulated by closed fishing seasons, minimum size limits, and limited fishing effort and gear use. Fishery controls seek to maintain half the estimated biomass of the stock (Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006). Voluntary fishing quotas are in place for this species and are adhered to by 95% of fishers (Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006).

In 2004, this fishery was awarded Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification (Marine Stewardship Council 2010, Phillips and Melville-Smith 2006).

Citation:	Butler, M., MacDiarmid, A. & Cockcroft, A. 2011. Panulirus interruptus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2013.
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