June 2009 Commercial Fisheries News - The Northeast's Fishing Newspaper for over 35 years

GOM lobster stock defies conventional wisdom

ALEXANDRIA, VA Nothing in the American lobster world seems to confound scientists more than the status of the Gulf of Maine resource.

With the single exception of Area 514 off Massachusetts, the new 2009 assessment found that overfishing is not occurring in the Gulf of Maine and the stock is not depleted or overfished.

Fishing effort, particularly inshore, is sky high the highest observed since 1982 both in terms of numbers of traps fished and soak time. The states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts reported that 3.6 million traps are fished in the Gulf of Maine, with 3.2 million reported from Maine alone, where “reported” may better reflect trap tags issued rather than traps in the waters. ...continued

View list of this month's selected news stories

• Or CLICK HERE to Subscribe NOW!!

Click here to find your local Newsstand!