The first-ever lobster forecast is out, and it says February’s record cold will likely set back Maine’s lobster season.
There’s a 69 percent chance that Maine’s summer lobster harvest will begin later than usual, according to the forecast issued Thursday by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. That has ramifications for both harvesters and the supply chain for Maine’s most lucrative seafood.
This winter’s below-normal temperatures and stormy weather have cooled the waters in the Gulf of Maine. That means lobsters, which spend their winters in deeper waters offshore, will likely get a late start migrating to the coast and shedding their shells, says Christina Hernandez, a research assistant working on the project, which is being funded with a $100,000 grant from NASA.
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