Title

"Feature Story" piece on the age-old debate about whether lobster are overfished

Authors

Wing Goodale

Source

Maine Times

Date

6-8-2000

Pages

16-17

Abstract

"Feature Story" piece on the age-old debate about whether lobster are overfished. Lobster fishermen say there is an indisputable abundance of Homarus americanus in Maine waters. Yet scientists and fishermen agree that the current high catch cannot last. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Maine lobster were not only plentiful, but immense, with some measuring up to five feet in length and weighing up to 40 pounds. By the mid-19th century, the average market lobster was four pounds. Today, the mean size is a little over 1 and 1/2 pounds. With details about a recent draft report prepared by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission documenting high lobster abundance, above-average egg production, an increase in catch effort, and a 75 percent increase in Gulf of Maine landings from 1982-97. The report admits that the Gulf of Maine stocks "may be underestimated," but still concludes that all the stocks are overfished, according to the growth and egg per recruit models.

Subjects

Lobster fisheries

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