We now have the complete details of Sri Lanka's new lobster laws and can amend the information we published in our May issue.
New regulations made under the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act to regulate the country's lobster fishery have already come into effect. According to the Lobster Fisheries Management Regulations, 2000, no person can sell, purchase, transport, or have in possession, lobster of the following description:
Panulirus ornatus with a carapace length of less than 10cm, or tail length of less than 14cm (in the event the carapace not being available for measurement) Other species of spiny lobster (Panulirus homarus, P longipes, P versicolor, P penicillatus, P polyphagus ) with a carapace length of less than 6cm, or tail length of less than 10cm Any spiny lobster in the soft-shell condition Any spiny lobster, or slipper lobster (family Scyllaridae ), with external eggs Removal of external eggs, or pleopods with eggs attached, from a spiny or slipper lobster is also prohibited....
