September 10, 2020 — Maine’s Congressional delegation announced last week that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative will again receive $2 million in funding to support Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank American lobster research priorities. This is the second consecutive year that the program has received federal money for the research to address critical gaps in knowledge about how American lobster is being impacted by environmental change in the Gulf of Maine.
“Maine’s fishermen and women have been careful stewards of our natural resources for generations,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said last week in a statement. “This critical federal funding will build on their efforts to support the health of Maine’s lobster fishery and help ensure its continued success.”
Four of the nine research projects being funded will be conducted by Maine researchers and institutions:
1) Fishing in hot water: Defining sentinel indicators of resilience in the American lobster fishery – University of Maine Orono.
The intent of this research is to develop “sentinel indicators” of resilience for the lobster industry that can be used to detect early signs of vulnerability among harvesters. In pursuit of this research, the authors will use peer-reviewed methods to develop and evaluate sentinel indicators and work closely with the lobster industry, managers, and the Lobster Regional Extension Program to solicit input and distribute results. Although the status of the lobster stock is closely monitored in the Gulf of Maine, no indicators currently exist to detect vulnerability among participants in the industry. Understanding vulnerability is vital to informing future management decisions and coastal community resilience.