Spiny lobster fishing is open on the Channel and Atlantic French coasts from April 1 to December 31. It only concerns specimens with a minimum size of 4.3 inches (11 cm) of cephalothorax and prohibits the capture of grained females, that is to say, females that carry eggs that they maintain in incubation. The landings of local spiny lobster are constantly decreasing and now represent no more than 20 tons annually compared to 200 tons at the start of the 1990s and 500 tons in the early 1960s. Such decrease is explained by the switch from trap fishing to net fishing in the 1970s and by the depletion of the resource due to various environmental factors.