Sustainable Fisheries

Lobster declines

The northeastern United States is the principal region in the country where lobsters are harvested, and the lobster fishery is the Northeast's most lucrative, with ex-vessel revenue at $285.6 million in 2003, according to NOAA Fisheries.

Thus, regional lobster declines due to shell disease and other factors are a major concern. Shell disease, evidenced in lobsters by black pitting on the shells, is caused by bacteria that eat into the lobster shell, called the carapace. Between 25 and 30 percent of lobsters in eastern Long Island Sound and southern New England suffer from the disease, which may prompt premature molting—if the animal still has the ability to molt. In advanced cases, the shell becomes fused to the flesh of the lobster. While lobsters that can molt may rid themselves of the disease, female egg-bearing lobsters may shed their eggs along with their shells before the eggs are ready to hatch.

Little research has been done to determine what has prompted the surge in shell disease, which had been a minor problem prior to 1996.

For more information, see:

• The Lobster Shell Disease fact sheet
• Information on the 2005 lobster shell disease symposium, hosted by Rhode Island Sea Grant
• "Spreading Shell Rot Disease "Eating" New England Lobsters" in Wrack Lines 4:2 by Connecticut Sea Grant
• The American lobster fact sheet
• The 2005 Sea Grant Science Symposium honoring lobster researcher J. Stanley Cobb
• New York and Connecticut Sea Grant Long Island Sound Lobster Initiative addressed lobster disease and mortality in Long Island Sound