A 8 pounder is at the the lower limit of keepers.
An 8 to 10 pounder is 10 is 15 years old and produces about 500,000 eggs per mating season of these it is estimated only two (2) will reach sexually maturity and reproduce themselves.
As the weight and size increases over 10 pounds the number of eggs carried will increase. It is estimated that a 10 pound plus lobster will produce one million (1,000,000) eggs per season, of these 4 or more lobsters will reach sexual maturity and reproduce at least 2 more lobsters. It is also estimated that a ten pounder has had about 10 matings and has produced around 30 mature lobsters.
Therefore, a quest to capture and display a "big lobster" just destroyed a small portion of the future lobster population for all future divers including your self--next time, if there is a next time, take a picture or two on the boat and reenter the water and gently place the lobster back on the bottom next to a hole that will provide shelter and wave bye bye to a friend that you hope to see every year for years to come.
FYI: In the early 1950s the F&G had a limit on the upper size and the lower size of a lobster. The lower size limit was as I recall 10-1/4 LOA, I don't recall the upper limit. The F&G at that early date had determined that the larger lobsters were the breeders and should be protected. This ban was lifted in 1955 (?) when the divers traded the right to Bay scallops for the removal of the upper size limit of a lobster...It is past time to once again reinstate the upper size limits.
Dr. SDM
NAUI instructor #27
BS in BIO
