Gloucester Times cites collaborative research in article on next lobster assessment
A recently published study by researchers from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, University of Maine and National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration was cited in a Gloucester Times article about the start of another benchmark lobster study. In 2015, data collected in an assessment of New England lobster stocks showed record-high abundance for the combined stocks of the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank and record lows in southern New England. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is planning for the next American lobster benchmark assessment that is expected to be completed in 2020, according to the article. If recent projections hold, the 2020 assessment could sketch a different picture from the 2015 assessment, possibly reflecting the declining abundance predicted by the collaborative UMaine study which forecast a 30-year decline in the Gulf of Maine lobster boom that began around 2010, the article states. “In the Gulf of Maine, the lobster fishery is vulnerable to future temperature increases,” the authors of the study wrote. “The researchers’ population projections suggest that lobster productivity will decrease as temperatures continue to warm, but continued conservation efforts can mitigate the impacts of future warming.” Saving Seafood and Newburyport Daily News also published the article.