AP, Press Herald report on collaborative lobster conservation research
The Portland Press Herald and Associated Press reported on a recently published study that found conservation practices employed in the Gulf of Maine have allowed the lobster fisheries of northern New England to thrive during a time of increased ocean warming, while fisheries in southern New England have declined drastically. The study included researchers from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, University of Maine and National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. The study indicated the lobster population in the Gulf of Maine will shrink upward of 62 percent over the next 30 years due to rising ocean temperatures. If not for Maine lobster industry conservation efforts established in the early 1900s, the outlook would be more dire. Those early efforts led to resilience in the face of climate change, and have made the difference between record lobster catches in Maine and population collapse a few hundred miles south. UMaine School of Marine Sciences researchers Richard Wahle and Yong Chen participated in the study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Mainebiz also covered the research and WBUR, WMTW (Channel 8), Chicago Tribune, Boston.com, Cape Cod Daily News, Eagle-Tribune, The Boston Globe and The Seattle Times carried the AP report.