Lobster Fishing

Question
I was wondering if you knew anything about the conservation of lobsters and what people are doing to keep this industry alive.

Answer
 Lobster are and have been for many, many years, heavily regulated by various local jurisdictions.  I am not familiar with national regulations, but do know for a fact that state, county, and towns have various ordinances that establish seasons, size limits and bag limits.  There are commercial regulations as well as those for recreational fishermen.  As with any other species of marine life, these are periodically reviewed and changed in accordance with current assessments of the condition of the stock.  Unfortunately, as with any living organism, there are other biological factors beyond harvesting by people that affect the overall health of the lobster population.  Disease, predation, and pollution are just some of the other factors that can severely damage the lobster population. In such instances, the only option available to the regulatory body is to set more stringent regulation on the harvest of the diminished stock.  This is unfortunate since it is placing a burden on the fisherman to correct a problem that was caused by some other factor.  The science of marine conservation is far from perfect, but rest assured lobster are among the most carefully studied and protected species, primarily because of their economic value.

-Rich