A proposal to ban lobster fishing from Massachusetts to North Carolina was killed Thursday after lobstermen said a five-year ban would destroy their businesses as the species is rebounding.
The board approved a motion to consider one of three options: cutting the catch by 75 percent, cutting it by 50 percent or keeping the current rules, which protect small lobsters and reproductive females.
Scientists cannot explain the recent crash in lobster populations. Possible causes are overfishing, a 1996 Rhode Island oil spill, a shell disease, and warmer water that has driven lobsters to cooler, deeper waters.
Lobstermen suggested the downturn was cyclical. They said they're seeing more and bigger lobsters, and urged the board to give more time to the current conservation measures.
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