YARMOUTH, Maine – The number of baby lobsters settling off the rocky coast of Maine continues to steadily decline — possibly foreshadowing an end to the recent record catches that have boosted New England's lobster fishery, scientists said.
A University of Maine survey of 11 Gulf of Maine locations indicates that young lobsters have declined by more than half of their 2007 levels — significant since lobsters typically take about eight years to reach the legal harvesting size.
The downward trend has lobstermen, retailers, state officials, and ocean scientists concerned that the impact could soon be felt on dinner tables nationwide. Maine lobsters were 85 percent of the nation's lobster catch in 2012.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Associated Press