The American lobster fishery is the most valuable fishery in the Northeast. Although the lobster fishery is strong in some areas, in Buzzards Bay, landings have declined by 50% since 1998. Why did the lobster population decline? Is it rebuilding? Possible explanations include over-fishing, oil spill effects, predation from recovering fish stocks (such as striped bass) and shell disease.

Answering these questions is the focus of the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute (MFI) Lobster Program. Currently the MFI is surveying the lobster population using ventless traps, exploring specific habitat relationships with scuba diving, and analyzing 18 years of continuous monthly water quality data from Buzzards Bay.

For additional information, please contact:

Bob Glenn
Division of Marine Fisheries
Quest Center
1213 Purchase Street
New Bedford, MA 02740
Email: robert.glenn@state.ma.us
Office: 508-990-2860 ext. 113
Fax: 508-990-0449

Jefferson Turner
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
School for Marine Science and Technology
706 Rodney French Blvd.
New Bedford, MA 02744
Email: jturner@umassd.edu
Office: 508-910-6332
Fax: 508-910-6371

Brad Stevens
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
School for Marine Science and Technology
706 Rodney French Blvd.
New Bedford, MA 02744
Email: bstevens@umassd.edu
Office: 508-910-6323
Fax: 508-910-6371