Captive breeding and seed production of scyllarid lobsters - opening new vistas in crustacean aquaculture.

Lobsters have been identified as a valuable seafood delicacy and enjoy great market demand worldwide. World production of lobsters average about 2.1 lakh tonnes per annum. Unlike shrimps, spiny lobsters generally have a complex and prolonged life cycle, which often involves long distance movement during the larval phase. The larvae after hatching transit through several planktonic larval stages and are carried away from the coast by currents. Large scale seed production and a grow out feed is required for successful pond farming of sand lobsters. The research programmes are directed towards achieving this goal.