Diseases of Nephrops and Metanephrops: a review

Abstract

Nephrops and Metanephrops are commercially exploited genera within the family Nephropidae (clawed lobsters). Commercial fisheries for each genus exist in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and utilise trawling or trapping for capture. Despite a relative lack of dedicated disease surveys on lobsters from these fisheries, several important symbionts and pathogens have been described. The most significant known pathogen of Metanephrops (challengeri) is a microsporidian parasite (Myospora metanephrops) which causes destruction of the skeletal and heart muscles of infected lobsters while the most significant known pathogen of Nephrops (norvegicus) is a dinoflagellate parasite assigned to the genus Hematodinium. This parasite has been responsible for an ongoing epidemic in fished populations of N. norvegicus in Northern Europe since at least the early 1980s and since then extensive studies on its life history and pathogenesis have occurred. Despite these research efforts significant gaps exist in our knowledge of the effects of parasites such as Hematodinium on the fished and non-fished portions of Nephrops populations and on the effect of fishery practices on the spread of infection. Furthermore, little is known about the effect of this (and other) pathogens on cohort survivability and the likelihood that early life stages will be effectively recruited to the fishery. This review summarises the available literature on diseases of these two lobster genera and provides an assessment of future research needs in this discipline.