An american in the aegean: First record of the american lobster homarus americanus h. milne edwards, 1837 from the eastern mediterranean sea

Abstract

A male Homarus americanus individual, commonly known as the American lobster, was caught by artisanal fishermen at Chalkidiki Peninsula, Greece, north-west Aegean Sea on 26 August 2019. The individual weighted 628.1 g and measured 96.7 mm in carapace length (CL) and 31.44 cm in total length (TL). The specimen was identified by both morphological and molecular means. This is the species’ first record from the eastern Mediterranean Sea and Greece, and only the second for the whole basin. However, several hypotheses for potential introduction vectors are discussed, as well as the potential implication to the regional lobster fishery. © Kampouris et al.