Panulirus regius has been assessed as Data Deficient. It has a wide distribution, but is fished throughout. Fishing intensity varies from country to country, with a focus on artisanal and subsistence fisheries, though also several commercial fleets (e.g., from France and Spain). There is little quantitative information on population trends or catch levels, but landings statistics and anecdotal reports suggest it has been intensively fished for decades along much of the west African coast with little or no regulation. The result is that stocks are likely overexploited in some resgions, particularly in the north and south of its range (e.g., Mauritania, Cape Verde Islands, Angola). Further information is needed to determine the abundance of this species, and to what extent it is impacted upon by harvesting on a global level, before an accurate assessment can be made.

This species occurs in the Eastern Atlantic region, from the west coast of Africa (Namibia to Morocco), and the western Mediterranean, along the east coast of Spain and south coast of France (Holthuis 1991).

This species was previously common throughout its range, but decades of overfishing have reduced many populations, and stocks in several countries are classified as 'over-exploited'. However, it is still locally abundant in some areas; for example, off the coast of Gabon (Bianchi 1992).

Specific population information on this species is unavailable. There are no FAO data on catches of this species. From information known, this species is most likely over-exploited by legal and illegal harvesting throughout its range and the population will have decreased substantially from its original biomass (M.J. Butler and A.C. Cockcroft pers. comm. 2008).

This species inhabits shallow water to 55 m, mostly being found between 5-15 m on rocky bottoms (Holthuis 1991), although in Gabon it is found on sandy bottoms (Sætersdal et al. 1999). Spawning occurs year round, peaking from June to September in the Northern Hemisphere and January to March in the Southern Hemisphere (Freitas et al. 2007). This species performs vertical reproductive migrations, moving from 2-20 m to 20-55 m from June to August in Senegal, to follow cooler water (Freitas et al. 2007).

This species is fished throughout its range, usually with vertical nets, lobster pots, or by trawling (Holthuis 1991). It is sold locally fresh, or frozen in France and Spain. According to the FAO, northern and southern stocks of this species are "probably overexploited" (Caramelo and Tanstad 2005).

Angola: There is a 'fairly significant' artisanal spiny lobster fishery; landings range from 100 to 200 tonnes per year, with a sharp increase since 1999 to nearly 700 tonnes. This is the main species caught in the provinces of Luanda, Kuanza Sul and Bengo, where there is no control or monitoring of lobster fishing. However, the fishery appears to be in a very undeveloped state and very little is known about either the fishery or the lobster resource (Agostinho et al. 2005).

Nigeria: This species is caught as by-catch (FAO 2001).

Ghana: Marine fisheries in Ghana are mainly artisanal, with the most common mode of fishing beach-seining (Nunoo et al. 2006). This is a destructive form of fishing, and may impact spawning populations of many species.

Cameroon: This species is "commercially important", and is harvested by an artisanal fishery and commercial fleets (FAO 2001).

Morocco: This species is fished, along with Panulirus elephas and P. mauritanicus, by a fleet of large wood artisanal vessels using gillnets, as well as smaller boats based near specific fishing locations. The total catch for the three species in 2002 and 2003 was 166 tonnes and 112 tonnes, respectively. There is no regulation apart from a minimum landing size of 170 mm total length for P. elephas (Goñi and Latrouite 2005).

Senegal: Landings in the 1960s from Senegal and Mauritania were 225 to 450 tonnes, which was exported directly to France (Gulland 1970).

Mauritania: This species is fished using nets, operating from Nouadhibou in the north of the country. The number of vessels is uncertain, although in 1987 there were 86 exclusively fishing lobster and six fishing for lobster plus other species. There are two main stocks, north and south. The northern stock, extending from Cape Blanc to Villa Cisneros was fished intensively in the past, and despite a reduction in take is still showing signs of overexploitation (e.g., decrease in average length of landed lobsters). This has a potential of 300 tonnes for 333 km of coastline. The southern stock has a lower potential - around 175 tonnes - and has been overfished for a long time. Fishing for this species also has wider ecosystem effects such as reducing prey for the Critically Endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus) (Guarrera 2003).

Fishing statistics for both stocks (north and south) are available from 1984 to 1992:

Total landings, metric tonnes:
1984 - 231; 1985 - 167; 1986 - 261; 1987 - 225; 1988 - 104; 1989 - 119; 1990 - 42; 1991 - 76; 1992 - 40

CPUE, kg / trip:
1987 - 9.3; 1988 - 10.3; 1989 - 22.3; 1991 - 25

Ivory Coast: Landings data is only available from the 1960s, when catches were 10 to 45 tonnes annually (Gulland 1970).

Cape Verde Islands: This is one of four species of commercial interest in the spiny lobster fishery. Annual catch potential until 1992 was thought to be around 1,000 tonnes for all four species, with actual catches ranging from 25 to 106 tonnes. Since then the focus has switched to Horse Mackeral (Trachurus trachurus). Demersal surveys from 1995 to 1999 showed a decreasing CPUE trend, with the conclusion that all were overexploited (Martins 2002).This species is heavily fished at most of the islands, and accounts for 71 % of the catch in the northwest islands (Freitas et al. 2007). It is caught by divers or traps down to depths of 55 m.

Portugal: This species is traded alive (total spiny lobster catch in 2005, incl. P. elephas and P. mauritanicus: 70 t), and fetches 48 Euros kg^-1 in local markets (Barrento et al. 2008).

This species has been fished for decades through much of the West African part of its range, and is economically one of the most important crustaceans in this area (Freitas et al. 2007).

Attempts have been made to breed this species in captivity. There is little management in place for this species, apart from minimum catch sizes in a few countries. No controls appear to be placed on its trade internationally.

At present there exists too little quantitative information to draft a management plan for this species, although it is clear that stocks are being fully or overexploited in at least part of its distribution. Therefore the emphasis must be on collecting high quality data on population sizes and trends throughout the range of this species, as well as information on threats. In the Cape Verde Islands, Freitas et al. (2007) proposed the introduction of a maximum landing size, in addition to the pre-existing minimum landing size (MLS) of 20 cm total length (TL), to protect larger females who dominate egg production. They also recommended increasing the MLS to 25 cm TL, equivalent to increasing the minimum landing weight from 500 g to 600 g, to protect more effectively reproductive females (Freitas et al. 2007). In Ghana, where the predominant form of fishing is beach-seining, Nunoo et al. (2006) recommend a three-month seasonal closure (between May and July) as the most practical way of sustainably managing artisanal fisheries. This approach is supported by fishers and evidence, from other African countries, of large post-closure gains in catches (Nunoo et al. 2006).