Updated analyses of the Fisheries Independent Monitoring Survey data of the Rock Lobster resource of South Africa to include the 2017/18 season

Analyses of FIMS data are updated to include data for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons. Results show an increase from the last season’s index for the FIMS relative abundance indices in the Cape Point Zone, although this increase follows from the lowest observed abundance index for this area. A drop from the last season’s index of abundance is seen for Dassen Island, Saldanha Bay and Lambert’s Bay Zones. The percentage of females compared to the last season has decreased in the Cape Point Zone and increased in the Dassen Island, Saldanha Bay and Lambert’s Bay Zones