Unusual landings of the deep-sea lobster, Palinustus waguensis in Sakthikulangara Fisheries Harbour

Unusual landing of Deepsea lobster Palinustus waguensis was observed at Sakthikulangara Fisheries Harbour at Kollam on 15.01.2019 along with the catch of deep-sea shrimps. An estimated catch of 100 kg of P.waguensis was landed in multiday shrimp trawls operated at a depth of 200-250 m, during the first two weeks of January 2019. Since the inception of deepsea shrimp landings, this species was observed in stray numbers and this is the first time a landing of this magnitude was observed. The lobster was sold in local market @ 150-200 ₹ per kg for domestic consumers. Distribution of this species is reported in the Indo-west pacific region (India, Thailand, Philippines, Japan) at a depth range of 100 to 180 m. The lobsters randomly sampled ranged from 81 to 154 mm each in total length and having 15.3 to75.7 grams weight