Article on the state of RI and Cape Cod lobster stocks

[RIOceanographer]

For you Southern New England lobster divers, here is a fairly interesting article on the state of the lobster fishery in this area.

http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/lobsterstock6.htm

 

[MSilvia]

Yup... I just saw chix at the market yesterday for 13.95/lb!

 

[crlavoie]

I find it interesting that nobody has ever (to my knowledge) proposed lowering the size limit. It seems counterintuitive and certainly against the very nature of the effort. But, when you read up a little on the habits and likes / dislikes of lobsters and there quest for housing, it's been proven that an abundance of smaller juveniles actually frustrates the larger lobsters to the point of vacating specific neighborhoods.

If you think about it, it's pretty much what we see when we're diving. Tons and TONS of shorts and hangers and very few truly sizeable bugs. The bigger bugs simply don't need to put up with nuissance of a million little rug rats, running around the neighborhood, taking up all of the prime shelters.

 

[ScubaSarus]

HERE IS ONE TODAY FROM CT

Lobster Prices Up Amid Short Supply
Some Crustaceans Sell For $20 Per Pound
GROTON, Conn. -- Lobster lovers craving the crustacean may find themselves in a pinch this year.

Restaurateur Paul Formica has seen the ebb and flow of lobster prices before.

"My two-pounders are at $20 a pound -- $18.99 a pound," he said. "I don't want to sell them for that."
Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Kevin Hogan reported the European market bought up much of the supply during Easter and the lobster stock supply is not very large this season.

"A lot of that has to do with the fact that the (one-)pounders, the guys who hold all the lobsters over the winter, this year, they didn't hold back that many. So, there's less in the pounds (and) the new caught production isn't catching up, and consequently, we have a shortage," Formica said.

As soon as the coastal waters start to warm, industry experts said, we might see lobsters start to scatter and head for local pots -- and the prices could fall.


"If we have a nice, warm weekend, that could change overnight," Formica said.