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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 10 May 2017

New lobster fishing rules on the way amid warming waters

ter temperatures play an have said. ing on new management
increasingly role in lobster Crafting the specifics of the measures, and walking
stocks, especially in south- management measures away from them now would
ern New England,” said will take months, and a final be a failure, said Mike Luisi,
Tina Berger, a spokeswom- vote on them is expected a fisheries manager for the
an for the commission. in August. state of Maryland.
The board’s goal, ap- Some members of the lob- “We’ve been trying to get
proved on Tuesday, is to ster industry have been crit- the best science available
increase egg production ical of the board’s plan to to make these decisions,”
in the area by five percent. approve new restrictions, he said.
Decreasing the amount of as they believe the fishery “It would be unfortunate if
fishing pressure will give the is already subject to too it had to go to the feds be-
lobsters a better chance much regulation. cause the board decided
to reproduce, scientists But the board has spent
working for the commission more than a year work- not to do something.”q

Richard Sawyer, Jr., fishes on Long Island Sound off Groton,
Conn. New restrictions are coming to southern New England’s
lobster fishery in an attempt to save the area’s population of the
crustaceans, which has dwindled as waters have warmed.
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
By PATRICK WHITTLE on Tuesday to pursue new
Associated Press management measures to
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — try to slow the decline of
New restrictions are com- lobsters in the area.
ing to southern New Eng- Management tools will in-
land’s lobster fishery in an clude changes to legal
attempt to save the area’s harvesting size, reductions
population of the crusta- to the number of traps and
ceans, which has dwindled seasonal closures to fishing
as waters have warmed. areas.
An arm of the interstate The board’s move was “a
Atlantic States Marine Fish- recognition that climate
eries Commission voted change and warming wa-
US fishing industry retracted

some in 2015; $208B in sales

By PATRICK WHITTLE “banner year.”
Associated Press The number of fisheries jobs
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — was also down 12 percent,
America’s fishing industry to 1.6 million. But the NOAA
declined slightly in 2015 as noted the 2015 totals were
fishermen contended with better than they were four
environmental and market years earlier and were the
forces, the federal govern- second best year in the pe-
ment says. riod from 2011 to 2015.
The National Oceanic and The NOAA said environ-
Atmospheric Administra- mental factors included
tion on Tuesday released marine toxins; El Nino, a
its “Fisheries Economics of naturally occurring world-
the United States” report wide climate phenomenon
for 2015, the most recent that starts with unusually
year for which statistics are warm water in the central
available. and eastern equatorial
The report says U.S. fisher- Pacific and then changes
ies contributed a little less weather worldwide; and
than $208 billion in sales, a the Pacific Ocean’s “warm
decline from nearly $214 blob,” an area of relatively
billion in 2014, which the warm water off the West
government stressed was a Coast. q