Growth, reproductive cycle, and movement of berried European lobsters (Homarus gammarus) in a local stock off southwestern Norway

The Norwegian fishery for the European lobster (Homarus gammarus) collapsed between 1960 and 1980, to,10 % of its pre-1960 level, and since then the spawning stock seems to be too low to generate good recruitment. In 1998, a project to evaluate the feasibility and effect of protecting berried female lobsters as a management restriction was initiated. The study area selected was previously an important fishing ground in Kvitsøy off southwestern Norway, and 125 000 hatchery-reared juveniles were release