At the dawn of another lobster fishing season things are looking good. Landings were down a bit last year from 2015, but boats prices were lifted by rising demand. For young people hopeful of making a living in fishing, as have those before them, there are many hurdles and barriers rising. Organizations like the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and the national Fishing Communities Coalition with a few legislators are seeking essential funding to find avenues for the next generations of fishermen. ©Joel Woods photo
Warming Water
Changing Lobster Behavior
by Laurie Schreiber
SAINT ANDREWS, N.B.—Environmental monitoring of the Gulf of Maine continues to confirm that the water is warming at the bottom and the surface, scientists said at the 2017 Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen's Town meeting held March 24-25 in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick.
Katherine Thompson, a lobster scientist with the Department of Marine Resources (DMR), presented the findings of Woods Hole, Mass.-based Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) scientist Jim Manning.
Manning’s projects include deploying environmental monitors on lobster traps ( a project called eMOLT), with the data input into oceanographic models.
“The common thread is that these are low-cost projects that collaborate with fishermen and with students,” said Thompson.
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