Maine’s catch of lobsters declined for the fourth straight year, state fishing regulators said Friday, as the industry continued to grapple with soaring business costs, inflation and a changing ocean.
The haul of lobsters, Maine’s best known export and a key piece of the state’s identity and culture, has declined every year since 2021, and some scientists have cited as a reason warming oceans that spur migration to Canadian waters.
Pretty sad. Maine does it right too – they have stricter regulations on catch sizes, prohibiting the larger lobsters from being harvested. They reproduce at an exponential rate to their size, so the bigger ones really crank out the eggs compared to the smaller ones. Other states allow larger catches.
But even with that… you can’t beat climate change. If they need colder water – they are going to keep moving north.
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**From The Associated Press:**
Maine’s catch of lobsters declined for the fourth straight year, state fishing regulators said Friday, as the industry continued to grapple with soaring business costs, inflation and a changing ocean.
The haul of lobsters, Maine’s best known export and a key piece of the state’s identity and culture, has declined every year since 2021, and some scientists have cited as a reason warming oceans that spur migration to Canadian waters.
Read more: [https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/maines-catch-lobster-declines-again-141332994.html?ncid=redditnewsus](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/maines-catch-lobster-declines-again-141332994.html?ncid=redditnewsus)
Pretty sad. Maine does it right too – they have stricter regulations on catch sizes, prohibiting the larger lobsters from being harvested. They reproduce at an exponential rate to their size, so the bigger ones really crank out the eggs compared to the smaller ones. Other states allow larger catches.
But even with that… you can’t beat climate change. If they need colder water – they are going to keep moving north.