NE Lobster Population

[scubastew]

Many of you have been stating in various threads that you feel the lobster population is decreasing. I too seemed to have had some horrible "luck" this past summer.

I am curious, if the apparent decrease in lobsters has anything to do with the ressurgence of the striped bass? I have noticed striped bass following my dive buddy and I at various dive sites, seemingly looking for an easy meal. Assuming they eat juvenile lobster, I imagine they'd follow lobster boats as well. Seems like an easy dinner if (as a striper) you learned to follow the humm of a lobster boat motor and snagged all the shorts as they were heading back to the bottom. Ymmmmm, crunchy!

The striped bass population was pretty beat up 10-12 years ago, and from what I understand didnt start making a serious come back until the last 5-6 years or so. I might be putting 2 and 2 and getting 5, but...seems to me more hungry stripers in the last 6 years eating more juvenile lobsters, leaving less to mature to "keeper size". And seeing as it take about 7 or 8 years for a lobster to get to keeper status...

Maybe it's worth a "grant" to study that?

Thoughts? Probably a lot more variables need to be tossed into the mix, but something I've been thinking about...

~stew

looking forward to hearing your take(s)

 

[MSilvia]

Seems reasonable to me. If stripers have learned to follow lobstering divers (and they seem to have), I wouldn't be suprised to find they learned the sound of a winch meant there would soon be juvenile lobsters in midwater.

More predators leading to less abundant prey seems logical.

 

[ScubaNorth]

With the cooperative behavior observed in Eels and Groupers having been published recently this is no stretch. I would say it is more than in the realm of possiblities that this is the case. I do also beleive that there is no one cause for lower count but more likely a number of factors coming together for a "perfect storm". I thought those stripers were so cool the first 100 times now they are like a pesky pooch, harmless but I which they would buzz off sometimes. We don't need a study we need spear fishing for stripers for a limited season.

 

[Gilldiver]

On the bright side I have been seeing soime 3-5" bugs for the first time in 3 or4 years in the central Sound areas south and west of New Haven. So the Sound may be recovering from the die off.

I could also be that we just do not have many Lobstermen left.

 

[decapoddiver]

We don't need a study we need spear fishing for stripers for a limited season.

Wow. Aside from the spelling, I would suggest you read a little more about Striped bass and the current state of the fisheries. A good start would be to check out http://www.stripersforever.org/Home/.

As for the spearfishing idea, just how in the world do you think you would be able to correctly measure a fish before you shot it? FWIW, I spearfish too.

 

[chipwd]

I know when we dove at Dutch Springs last fall the large mouth bass would follow us especially when we swam close to the bottom. Other divers told us they did so in the hope we would turn over rocks and stuff and the minnows and crayfish hiding beneath them then became an easy meal.

Makes sense to me that the same would apply to other fish learning a similar lesson.

 

[ScubaNorth]

Wow. Aside from the spelling, I would suggest you read a little more about Striped bass and the current state of the fisheries. A good start would be to check out http://www.stripersforever.org/Home/.

As for the spearfishing idea, just how in the world do you think you would be able to correctly measure a fish before you shot it? FWIW, I spearfish too.

Gotta be honest grammer girl, not real concerned about the state of the bass fisheries. Commercial fishing does more in a day to destroy the oceans than all the divers could do in a year. I do suggest you figure out how they do it in RI and go ahead and do it that way. OK the spelling was horrid wish I can correct or is it which. Do you feel better now?

 

[decapoddiver]

Gotta be honest grammer girl, not real concerned about the state of the bass fisheries. Commercial fishing does more in a day to destroy the oceans than all the divers could do in a year. I do suggest you figure out how they do it in RI and go ahead and do it that way. OK the spelling was horrid wish I can correct or is it which. Do you feel better now?

Wow. You really put me in my place and showed your ignorance.
You still never answered my question: How do you measure the striped bass underwater to be sure it meets the RI minimum size of 28"?

Maybe I will come down and watch and you can show me how you do it. I would really like to see.

 

[Rainer]

Wow. You really put me in my place and showed your ignorance.
You still never answered my question: How do you measure the striped bass underwater to be sure it meets the RI minimum size of 28"?

Maybe I will come down and watch and you can show me how you do it. I would really like to see.

I don't understand your issue. All the fish I've hunted in RI and MA have minimum length limits, yet I haven't had a problem. Practice gauging sizes at distance (e.g. mark a line, or even your spear at the limit size, place it 5-10' away and memorize what that size looks like); in just a little time you'll learn the sizes. Also, don't bother shooting anything that's right at the limit size! If it isn't significantly bigger then don't bother. That said, my buddy and I are just using pole spears, so we have to get pretty close before taking a shot. That said, I think with a little practice and a conservative approach, sizing fish underwater is a skill that anyone can learn.

 

[decapoddiver]

That said, I think with a little practice and a conservative approach, sizing fish underwater is a skill that anyone can learn.

My two issues are :
I have seen lots of people spearfish "shorts" of other species that had a minimum size limit. "Well, it looked big enough underwater".
The other was various poster's apparent lack of knowledge concerning the current plight of Striped Bass. I have worked very hard for the last six years with SF and other organizations in an effort to help protect and manage the Stripers for recreational fishermen. I guess it hit a nerve. I will be quiet now and will not post again about this subject.