V-notching tagging has been practiced for decades in juveniles and ovigerous females of the clawed lobsters Homarus americanus and H. gammarus as an effective conservation strategy in several European and US fisheries. For the first time a V-notch experimental study was conducted with the spiny lobster Palinurus elephas with the aims of: 1) assess survival of notched versus unnotched lobsters, 2) assess differences in the incidence of shell disease of notched and unnotched lobsters, and 3) assess the rate of notch loss (tag retention) with respect to molt frequency. A total of 36 wild young adults were housed in a tank of 10000 litres separated in three replicates of 12 lobsters each one. Half of individuals of each replicate were marked with a v-notch (side 1 cm long). Tank environmental conditions (temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen) were controlled to mimic conditions in the wild. The experiment lasted 20 months. There were no significant differences in survival or health conditions of notched and unnotched specimens. After 15 months, all the indivudals had completed two molts and five of them have undergone the third one. After the second molt on average 25% of the notched area has been overgrown and lobsters with the third molt have overgrown 45% of the notched area. The performance of area, width and height of the V-notch tab for regulatory purposes are discusse
