Can Maine's Lobsters Be Saved?

Back to Map Page July, 1998 Maine’s lobster population shows warning signs of a catastrophic collapse, according to a July 24 report in the Boston Globe. Despite concerted efforts to control harvest levels and trapping technology, fishery biologists warn that lobster catchers are hauling in twice as many as the population can sustainably support. As a result, lobster caught today are small--90% barely meet the minimum legal size. New England lobstermen insist that continued large catches prove that the population is healthy. Biologists counter that the large catches simply reflect more aggressive trapping in larger offshore waters. Meanwhile, competition from foreign lobster fisheries, and a growing international market for lobster, are driving more aggressive pursuit of Maine’s lobsters.    Lobster trapping is an important industry in many coastal Maine towns, and the fishery is regulated in efforts to maintain reproductive stocks. Access to lobster grounds is somewhat restricted, and regulators have set minimum sizes and maximum trap numbers. But the minimum legal size is small, 5 inches, and the maximum number of traps is 1,200 per person, far larger than the actual average number of about 400. Lobster catchers and regulators hotly debate whether these limits are enough to protect a healthy stock of egg-laying females. At the same time the number of lobstermen and the size of operations have continued to grow. Maine waters now hold 2.6 million lobster traps, double the number of 25 years ago.   Maine's rocky southern coast is an important lobster producing region--lobster boats from other states as well as from Maine rely on these waters. Further adding to worry is the use of bottom-dragging trawlers to catch lobsters. Most lobstermen use baited traps to catch the crustaceans, a traditional, inexpensive, and slow method well suited to individual operations. The larger trawlers drag heavy nets along the bottom, often badly disturbing the seafloor where lobsters hide and reproduce. Also worrisome is increased trapping and trawling further from shore than in the past. Some analysts believe deepwater, offshore populations have in the past helped to maintain the more heavily trapped nearshore lobster populations. Biologists warn that conditions in the lobster trapping business closely parallel symptoms in the New England cod fishery shortly before its collapse in 1994. Once the economic backbone of New England and maritime Canada, as well as for European fishing regions of Spain, France, Portugal, and England, the Grand Banks cod population sank precipitously, possibly beyond recovery, and was declared defunct in 1994. Like the lobster today, the cod showed warning signs: sizes were shrinking but catches stayed high as improved technology removed more and more of the breeding stocks from the ocean. At the same time, bottom-dragging trawlers destroyed spawning grounds, and regulators and fishermen angrily denied scientific warnings of imminent collapse. Ultimately, nobody really knows how many lobster there are or how stable the population is. Regulators hold the theory that the population is dwindling and in danger; lobstermen hold to the theory that since catches remain high, the population is healthy--even though individuals are smaller than they used to be. To read more, see Environmental Science, A Global Concern, Cunningham and Saigo, 5th ed. Collapse of the Canadian cod industry: page 213 Environmental Science, Enger and Smith, 6th ed. World fisheries and local fishery management: pages 201-205 For further information, see these related web sites: Lobster history in Maine Lobster policy survey: report from the University of Maine Lobster research: behavior and ecology Back to Map Page feedback form | permissions | international | locate your campus rep | request a review copy digital solutions | publish with us | customer service | mhhe home Copyright ©2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of the The McGraw-Hill Companies.