Lobster Fishing

After an over exploitation phase between 1963 and 1970-1971, the stock of pink lobster of Mauritania was reconstituted little by little thanks to an important reduction which enabled a significant increase in the number of catches. Between 1963 and 1988 the stock went through three phases of exploitation, but doubling in the number of catch in 1987 and 1988 contributed again to the breaking down of stock.

Before 1990, the Mauritanian lobster was famous everywhere in Europe and a large quantity of French fishing boats (about 50) was used to come from the French Brittany coast (Camaret) to catch lobsters in Mauritanian waters.

Unfortunately, when France joined the European Community it resulted in the strict enforcements of fishing quotas to be split with other European members and especially the Portuguese who had the right to fish pelagic fish using floating nets (which is now totally prohibited). This induced a severe destruction of the lobster fish stock.

Since, lobster fishing fainted, and - although the fishing stock is now back to normal standards – it is far of being over exploited.

Green lobster fishing has experienced uneven development. However, this type of fishery has been decreasing overall since the 1980s.

Lobsters are located in deep ocean wells. They are fished by mean of cases and stored on board in fish tanks.

The catch is then disembarked and stored alive on earth in fish tanks before being air shipped to final destination (a box filled with straw and iced water in plastic bags provides a 24 hour autonomy).

The European demand is quite strong for Mauritanian pink lobster which is said to the tastiest in the world. It’s very possible to catch up to 200 kg per day.

Lobster commercial fishing belong to the “special fishing” category and calls for a dedicated license. To obtain a lobster fishing license or to buy wholesale lobster go here! Lobster Fishing.