Long Island Lobster Fishing: Another Example of Overfishing and Environmental Degradation

This article in the NY Times about lobster fishing in Long Island reminded me of the lobster overfishing in the Dominican Republic. However, the situation is even more complex because the lobster population is decreasing it is thought due to climate change and the flusihg of pesticides released into the water to kill mosquitoes. There is also a bacterial invasion that causes deformities, which reduces the lobster's marketability.

Published!

Hi all, I haven't written in a while but I need to share the news of my first publication! Here is the link to the journal's website. The journal is Consilience, the Journal of Sustainable Development. It's an online publication. My article is in Issue Six, Summer 2011. I am currently working on an article on lobster houses on wikipedia because there is currently nothing available on the subject. I am also going to make sure to cite my article. :)

Lobster House Poster

I made a poster on lobster houses! Sorry the text is impossible to read, but you get the idea. There is no way to make it bigger. At least you can see the pictures... It's going to be presented at CERC's Sustaining Life, Securing Our Future next Tuesday. The conference is all day and the poster session begins at 4:20 and people just walk around looking at the posters so it's not going to be a formal presentation. 

Blue Lobsters/Crawfish

For my aquaponics class I've been researching species to grow in our 10 gallon tank. I went to Petco to do some research and came away with 10 goldfish because they are hardy and only cost 15 cents each. One of the most exotic species I saw there were these small crustaceans, which were called blue lobsters and were $21 each! Maybe it would be profitable to start a breeding operation...

(They are even using artificial shelters!)

The blue lobster is a color morph of many different American crayfish species, some that breed in captivity and some that don't (there goes my plan). There are also blue American lobsters (the full-size Maine lobsters that you normally think of as lobster), but only one in a million is blue. They can get to 6 inches long. I decided that redclaw crawfish were a better option...

How to Harvest Lobsters from a Lobster House

Finally I found an accessible video of harvesting lobsters from a lobster house! Even stranger, it was made during an exchange of Dominican fishermen to Punta Allen with ReefCheck DR. okgo007, who are you? Have you met James, he is also a fan of OK Go. : )

Bionic Lobster Commercial

I came upon this video over the summer and was luckily able to find it again. : ) This lobster lost his right arm in an unfortanate fishing accident and came across a leatherman laying on the seafloor. Caribbean Spiny Lobsters don't have claws but maybe they could make an investment in some leathermans!

Lobster Houses Illegal in Florida Keys

I found these two videos on the use of lobster houses in Florida, which is illegal. Divers dump all kinds of material into the ocean in order to attract lobsters and have been causing damage to the environment and is resulting in overfishing. According to the video though they have been very successful and have been bringing more lobster than the fishers that use traps. There are some fishers that are licensed to create artificial reefs by dumping materials but they have to be approved beforehand to make sure that the area where the dumping occurs will not be damaged and the materials will not disintegrate and cause damage to the environment.

I think that lobster houses should be regulated to make sure that they are made out of approved materials and put in the proper locations to reduce environmental impact, but I'm not convinced that they should be completely banned. The fishers that use traps feel threatened because the lobster houses are more effective and their fishing method is harmful to the environment as well. When there is a major storm, their traps get thrown about reefs causing damage and the fishers leave juvenile lobsters, called "shorts," in their traps to attract other lobsters. This results in a significant loss in the number of juveniles in this fishery because they usually get eaten by other lobsters or fish or die due to starvation.

New England Lobster Dinner

Last weekend I went home to celebrate my mom's birthday and she decided that she wanted a lobster dinner. Since we were going to have our dinner celebration on Sunday, we went to buy the lobsters from the lobster truck that operates out of the Auburn Traffic Circle. They have the cheapest lobsters in town!

Here's a photo of the lobster flag that they put out in the parking lot they are based out of. I want one.

The lobster truck! One of these in NYC would make a killing! Who cares about wasabi ice cream from the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck when you could be eating lobsters?

The owner of the truck displaying his seven pound lobster. It costs $42! My dad told me that my grandmother would buy one of these lobsters for herself and eat the whole thing for dinner. I think I inherited her appetite for lobster.

We brought our lobsters home and Mom thought it would be a good idea to bring the lobsters out for some fresh air before they got put in the pot and I agreed. We taught them to play some few sports as well. I was continually reminded of the poem the Walrus and the Carpenter. Do you think it was cruel of us to put these poor animals through this torture? I still don't know, but the resulting pictures were pretty cute. : )

Keep that ball rolling!

This lobster looks a little threatening with that bat. I wouldn't want to mess with him.

We bought 5 3 pound lobsters and they provided us with 8 lobster sandwiches and a fantastic lobster dinner. We cooked them on Saturday and reheated them for dinner on Sunday in order to cook them fresh. The lobsterman said that the lobsters would last in the refrigerator until the next day if we wanted to cook them then. It seemed cruel to keep them alive out of water for that long and would probably taste better cooked fresh anyways. They did get to enjoy their lawn sports though. : )

Spiny Lobster Dinner

I couldn't believe that I only got to try spiny lobster the day before I left the DR after I had been there for 3 months studying lobster fishing! Everyone agreed that the lobsters were very tasty and that they should support the lobster fishermen more often by buying more lobsters. This dinner is partially due to the request of Ina, who wanted to try spiny lobster because she had never had it as well. She is a fantastic cook and whipped up some delicious garlic butter that was to die for.

Do not read this part of the blog if you are squeamish about your food because it depicts the methods in which we committed lobster murder. I know a lot of people do not like to think of their food as once being a living thing. I practically grew up on a sheep and goat farm in which my uncle was slaughtering animals every day, so I've thought about it a lot and it doesn't make me squeamish. I also think it's better to know where your food comes from and that you appreciate it more if you are part of the process. I only eat meat when I know that it has been raised in humane conditions (has plenty of space to grow and exercise, doesn't receive any unnecessary antibiotics, and is produced by small farmers) and is local. I guess you could call me a meat locavore or a picky meat eater or a flexitarian with standards.

The Gruesome Details of the Murder: We wanted to reduce the suffering of the lobsters and read online that if you stabbed them in the body, they would die quicker than boiling them in water. We tried that but they remained squirming for at least five minutes. The boiling method was a lot faster. After the initial shock of being submerged in water, they stopped moving much faster so we switched methods. Also, piercing their shells allows all of their juices to leak out and may result in a less tasty lobster.

A photo of us ready to enjoy our meal. Ina is taking it and from the left to right is Eliseo, Henry, me, and Darien.

Spiny lobsters are so much more beautiful than Maine lobsters.

A lobster pig pile!

This was a fantastic day of lobsters and rainbows. : )

The Trip to Caco P's Houses

Finally I get to update my blog! I've been waiting for people to send me photos.

My last day in Miches was spent with Ina Vanderbroek, an ethnobotanist from the New York Botanical Garden, and Eliseo, a potential volunteer and a friend of Wilman. It was the only time every that I had visitors. I had been in touch with Ina since last semester because she has done research on botanicas in New York City and wrote a paper on botellas, which is the type of traditional medicine that mamajuana is. Unfortunately, I was never able to talk to her in person but was extremely excited that she was coming to Miches. It was a treat to spend the day with her and show her my project. All of these pictures are hers and I was extremely grateful to have her along because I haven't had a camera since the beginning of my stay in the DR (I blame the technology-destroying tropical humidy). Eliseo was going to be a volunteer in Miches and continue collecting data on the size and number of lobsters that are brought in as well as help check the lobster houses every other weekend, but he got a job and had to back out.

Here is a lovely photo of us in our dollar store hats. (From left to right: me, Ina, and Eliseo)

Me measuring the lobsters that we bought from my friend Watchiman, who is a nasa fisherman. Watchiman is his nickname and in English it means watchman.
Here is a photo of Caco P sporting his diving gear and his compresor he used to dive down to the houses. Techinically the houses are shallow enough not to use a compressor and he wouldn't be harmed if he had to rapidly ascend to the surface but he wanted to take his time down there to show the lobsters and the houses. Sadly I couldn't descend very far because I was recovering from swimmer's ear. I will never learn to use alcohol drops in my ears to avoid this yearly pain. No one else has to go through it! I blame my small ear canals.
Here is one of Fran's sons repairing one of Fran's nasas. A few of the nasas that we brought up were so damaged that there were no lobsters in them because they had all escaped. This nasa had lobsters in it but was due for some repairs.
For bait, the fishermen use rotten meat they get from carnecerias (meat shops) or by catch that people don't like to eat, such as this spotted sting ray that they are cutting up.
Another photo of Caco P silohetted against the sky. I like this photo a lot. Caco P is what Dominicans call an hablador, which means he likes to talk and usually what he says doesn't mean anything. In other words, he is a bullshitter. He asked me to bring back a scuba diving sit for him because his is falling apart. I wish I could but that is an expensive request. Maybe I can find an old on for free. I'm planning on bringing back stickers and those rub-on tatoos for the kids because they love that kind of thing and some baby clothes for one of the mothers.
This was really a magical trip. We saw a rainbow! Not just any rainbow either. We saw both sides and it reflected off of the water to form a complete circle. Stuck in my head for the rest of the day was Kermit the Frong singing the Rainbow Connection.
Here is a photo of Los Mameyes, the community I worked in. It's located right on the beach and every day people gather underneat the almond tree and hang out. Sadly I didn't get a photo of the almond tree, which is probably my favorite place in Miches. The breeze coming off of the ocean is fantastic and there are no jejenes (sandfleas that are the same size but worse than New England noseeums). The beach is covered in trash and their houses are small and dirty but I've never met happier people.
Every morning and evening trucks with coolers filled with ice would descend the steep hill to pick up the catch the fishermen would bring in. I was afraid to go down that hill and would always get off the moto and complete the journey on foot. The fish were actually quite beautiful out of the water, especially the parrot fish with their bright blues, reds, and yellows. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of them. I will take tons of photos when I go back to the Dominican Republic this winter.
Here is me showing Eliseo and Ina how to tell the difference between a male and female lobster. Female lobsters have modified pleopods underneath their tail that hold the eggs. This is a female lobster and I am pointing to her pleopods.
Currently I'm planning my return trip to the DR and looking at all of these pictures is making me miss the Dominican Republic all the more. It's going to be fun to go back! : )

Lobster Measuring and Dominoes

My last week in the DR was packed with activity and was a few weeks ago so I only remember the highlights. There are also photos that I'm waiting on so I will describe further details in subsequent blog postings. This lobster is a photo of the largest lobster I was able to measure. It was caught at a depth of 120 feet with a compressor and is 30 centimeters long!

I spent a lot of time hanging out at Los Mameyes. During that time I learned how to pass the time playing the beloved Domininican pastime of dominoes. However, in Los Mameyes they play it differently. It is also the only way that I know how to play dominoes so I can't compare it very well with other variations. They play dominoes with concrete blocks. There are no teams and the loser of the previous round has to put a block on their shoulder for the next game. It is entertaining and a workout. When someone wins by capicua, which is when the winning domino matches both ends, the loser has to put two blocks on their shoulder! This is a photo of Fran passing the block to me because I lost. I tended to lose a lot... It did make my shoulders stronger though! : )

Las Casitas de Punta Cana

While we were taking care of the coral nursery, we also made time to check the lobster houses that are there. There are two lobster houses and although there were no lobsters inside them, one of them did have a red-banded coral shrimp.

Here's a photo of Victor using the proper lobster house lifting technique.

Currently there are six or seven houses in the water and two of them are inaccessible to fishermen because they are in the nursery (acuario), where the corals are grown and where there are many divers. The fishermen are not allowed to access this area with boats from 9-5, but many of them fish during the night or free dive, which means they go out snorkeling with their harpoon and bag in tow. There are more than a hundred fishermen who are members of the association, but in the Foundation there was only a list of 35 registered fishermen. Also, Victor said that many of the fishermen are older and there is not many young fishermen because they are being employed in tourism and other jobs. The association has been in existence for 12-14 years.

The main fisherman that we talked to, named Sr. Rojo said that Dominicans don’t think of the future but only of immediate gain and that is why the lobster houses haven’t had much follow through. There are rumors that as many as 60 pounds of lobster have been taken in from one house at one time so they seem to be successful. The houses in the nursery did not have any lobsters, only a red-banded coral shrimp. There are 10 more houses that were built in December in the Foundation that should be put in the water and there are materials for 10 more houses to be built. The fishermen already have an idea of where to put them so that they wouldn’t be in the way of divers. They talked about getting a GPS so that they would be able to know the exact location of the houses and wanted to get someone to teach them how to use it. Right now the houses are just checked from memory and whoever wants to can check the lobster houses for lobster.

While we were having the meeting, a fisherman came in with his catch and had 21 pounds of lobsters and there were only 14 spiny lobsters! There was only one that looked like it was undersized and none of them had eggs. The fisherman had also caught loro, lambí, and pork fish, among other fish. The fishermen in this community use a gancho and a compressor to catch lobsters and also some of the fishermen use nasas, but lobster isn’t their primary source of income. They sell their catch to the local restaurants and resorts. I think that it would be beneficial for them to market their product as being caught locally, because it saves on the gas and ice needed to transport fish from across the country to get to the resorts. The resorts could win out and the fishermen. Lobster houses also seem to be the best way to increase catch because the houses do not require a lot of space and there could be as many as 250 lobsters in one house. An option that the fishermen brought up is the possibility of taking tourists out on fly fishing excursions, but the fishermen do not know how to fly fish. However, they know where to catch the fish. Tarpon is caught in Miches and is supposed to be a fantastic fly fishing fish but Micheros catch them with just a hook and line. Victor came up with the idea of teaching the fishermen how to SCUBA safely and exchange their compressors for SCUBA tanks. The tanks are expensive but it only costs 5 dollars to refill them. It would basically be like the net exchange project ESSEG is doing for the Sustainable Fisheries Grant. However, the fishermen could then still use ganchos, catching berried females and undersized lobster, and might still damage the reefs.

Punta Cana really is an entirely different world from the Dominican Republic. It actually has power 24 hours a day! (The power did go of for about 15 minutes while I was there though, but Victor said that that was the first time that had ever happened since he had been there). The nearest colmado is 20 minutes away and a Presidente pequeña costs $5! It usually only costs 50 pesos ($1.50). There is no music blaring, roosters crowing, motos going by or dogs barking constantly either and everything is manicured. I didn't like it. I like the real DR better, with all of its craziness.