Maine鈥檚 Department of Marine Resources is launching a half-million-dollar project to get a more comprehensive scientific assessment of one of the state鈥檚 most valuable resources 鈥� lobster. The new Maine Lobster Research Collaborative will focus on the lobster fishery鈥檚 biological, physical and social dynamics, as the request for proposals puts it.
DMR spokesman Jeff Nichols notes that while lobster populations in southern New England crashed this decade, Maine鈥檚 landings soared to record levels. Yet there is little research to show whether that can be directly linked to Maine鈥檚 management policies. And landings are down this year, while disparate monitoring programs are sending sometimes conflicting signals about overall population health.
Nichols says the collaborative will attempt to integrate monitoring programs, study environmental factors such as the Gulf鈥檚 rapidly warming waters and assess the success of conservation strategies.
鈥淪uch as the minimum and maximum size, the use of V-notching and the protection of egg-bearing lobsters, and to more accurately quantify their contributions to the improved lobster stock and improvement in landings,鈥� he says.
The contract鈥檚 components likely will be parceled out to various scientific and other organizations, Nichols says. It鈥檚 being funded by sales of the state鈥檚 lobster license plate.
This report comes from the : Eight public media companies, including Rhode Island Public Radio, coming together to tell the story of a changing region, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Copyright 2017