Southern New England Lobster Closure Pending

Recruitment failure in the southern New England lobster fishery could lead to a five year moratorium on fishing on the SNE lobster stock. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commis- sion’s American Lobster Technical Committee released the information on May 3. No action has yet been taken.

A moratorium means no harvesting and could effect gillnetters, draggers and others who catch lobsters.

Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner George Lapointe said, “the (ASMFC) Technical Committee (TC) may not have the resolve to do this, but one way or the other the modeling calls for closure.”

The decline started six to eight years ago and now recruitment is way off. There are a number of factors being considered as causes. One is the effect of climate change on water temperature. Water temperatures may be affecting how and where lobster spawn.

Maine DMR scientist Carl Wilson is the current chairman of the ASMFC’s American Lobster Technical Committee. He noted that abundance levels have been low in southern New England for several years and with parent stock low, recruitment is low.

The TC considers their recommendation for closure to offer the best chance to rebuild the stock to an abundance level that is sustainable in the long-term.

Lapointe noted that critics have said Maine representatives support the closure because it would benefit the Maine lobster fishery. But he added that the relatively small amount of lobster taken in southern New England would have no effect on Maine’s nearly $300 million dollar lobster fishery.

Some have expressed concerns about similar abundance and recruitment problems developing to Maine waters.

Robert Steneck, marine biologist at the Darling Marine Center at Boothbay, said the recruitment failure in southern New England is believed to be affected by climate change. Part of what is happening is a contraction to colder water. At the same time there has been a population decline, in part from disease. The result is a lower distribution range in the shallows. A number of factors have caused the lobster’s decline there, one of them is temperature.

Is the lobster fishery in the Gulf of Maine at risk for something similar?

“There is cause for concern, but I am cautiously optimistic that there will be no similar effect here in Maine waters. Maine continues to have a lucrative monoculture of lobster,” said Steneck.

“There are many things that are different here,” said Steneck. "Lobster is a shelter-driven animal. There is little shelter in southern New England waters and plenty here. They need cold water and we have it. There are just many fundamental differences in the lobster of southern New England.”