The Indian spiny lobster, Panulirus homarus (Linnaeus
1758), is of great commercial importance and has a
high demand in the internationalmarket.However, due
to the lack of larval rearing technology, traders depend
heavily on the wild-caught undersized lobsters that
are normally maintained in impoundments for
fattening. Overstocking and poormanagement of these
holding and fattening systems can result in stress,
which can eventually lead to disease outbreak. Crustaceans
respond to these stress factors with their innate
immune system, consisting of bothcellularand humoral
factors
