LONG-TERMRECAPTURESAND GROWTH OF SLIPPER LOBSTERS, SCYLLARIDES LATUS, IN THE STRAIT OF SICILY (MEDITERRANEAN SEA)

Mediterranean slipper lobsters, Scyllarides latus, were captured, tagged, and released at selected sites off the western coasts of Sicily and Linosa Island (Mediterranean Sea) in the framework of a research project on restocking feasibility. During the programme (1995-97), 288 specimens of S. latus of Sicilian origin were handled, having 59 moults in the aquarium. Of the 115 that were released, 29 individuals were later recovered, many of which had grown in the meantime. In 1999, one more tagged female of S. latus was caught by a trammel net after 1575 days at sea, about 5 km from the place of release. The specimen was fully viable and showed an increase of 28% in carapace length and 100% in body weight, and both its external t-tag and the internal PIT were still readable. This record, together with previous in-captivity results and short- and long-term (up to 70 weeks) recaptures, allows an estimate of the slipper lobster's growth rates.