Declining Population of Young Lobsters in Maine Blamed on Changes in the Environment

First Posted: Apr 23, 2014 10:31 AM EDT
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After three years of record numbers for lobster hauls off of the coast of Maine, scientists are reporting that the population of young lobster has declined over 50% of their 2007 levels, which could significantly affect the market.

According to researchers at the University of Maine, the young lobster population decline was documented in 11 Gulf of Maine locations - a significant statistic that caught the eye of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The last three years featured catches totaling 350 million pounds of lobster, according to state data.

But that's not the reason for the drastic decline in young lobster. Officials are attributing the losses to environmental issues such as warmer ocean temperatures, pollution, atmospheric conditions, and changes in predation and availability of food. Lobsters are particularly sensitive to changes in temperature and pollution is causing shell rot and other illnesses.

University of Maine divers have been tracking lobster populations and settlement rates since the 1980s. The American Lobster Settlement Index is the annual monitoring program of the university that tracks 11 locations in the Gulf of Maine as well as two locations in Canada and three in Massachusetts. All of the locations witnessed a decline this year. The survey now examined over 100 lobster-producing sites.

"It's our first indicator that things might be changing in the future," said Carl Wilson, Maine's lobster biologist, in this ABC News article. "Low settlement, it's thought, in the future will lead to lower landings."

Rick Wahle is the founder of the American Lobster Settlement Index, who is also a marine ecologist with the University of Maine. He found that since 2004, the Gulf of Maine surface temperatures have been increasing .26 Celsius per year, which he believes causes the lobsters to migrate north and change predation patterns in fish, causing them to eat more young lobsters.

Whatever the issue may be, scientists are still searching for definitive answers, but it's likely that fisheries in the New England area will witness a steep decline in lobster profits in the near future.

You can read more about Maine's lobster population decline in this SF Gate article as well as this Washington Post article.

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