UMaine Lobster Research

Curt Brown teaching school kids about Baby Lobsters.

Students lend a hand with baby lobster research

Watch American Lobster Settlement Index Video

Watch Cassie Leeman’s 5 minute video:

Improving Business Practices to Reduce Mortality in the Lobster Supply Chain

2023

Collaborative Research: Rapid Arctic change and its implications for fisheries and fishing communities of the western North Atlantic

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle, Brady, Beitl, Stoll, Leslie (UM).
Sponsors: National Science Foundation
Duration: 3 years
Starting date: 2023
Award Amount: $1,426,793

Investigating lobster byproducts as soil amendments for disease suppression and soil health improvement in potato production

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: School of Food and Agriculture
Investigators: Hao (UM)
Sponsors: US Dept of Agriculture
Starting date: 2023
Award Amount: $19,620

Northeast National Resource Center on Canada – Title VI Grant & Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Grant

Canadian American Center
Investigators: Rondeau (UM)
Sponsors: Department of Education
Starting date: 2023
Award Amount: $1,550,000

2022

Can Proprietary Commercial Lobstering Data be Used to Inform Offshore Wind Development?

College: School of Computing and Information Science
Investigators: Beard-Tisdale (UM), Wahle (UM), Hawkins (RODA), McCarron (MLA)
Sponsors: NOAA – National Sea Grant
Duration: 2 years
Starting date: 2022
Award Amount: $157,758

Benchmark Data Collection for Commercial Fisheries Marketing Practices: Implementation of a National Survey

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Stoll (UM)
Sponsors: WHOI
Starting date: 2023
Award Amount:$206,198

An Ecosystem Context for Fisheries Decision-Making in Maine Coastal Waters

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Zydlewski (UM), Kerr (GMRI)
Sponsors: NOAA
Starting date: 2023
Award Amount: $74,316

RII Track-1: Molecule to Ecosystem: Environmental DNA as a Nexus of Coastal Ecosystem Sustainability for Maine (e-DNA) Yr4

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Varahramyan,Beard-Tisdale, Kinnison, Leslie, Abedi, Lasley-Rasher, McGreavy, Saros, Brady, Cammen, King, Ranco, Rich, Wahle, Zegers, McKay, Speer, Stetzer
Sponsors: NSF
Starting date: 2022
Award Amount:$4,844,912

Access and adaptation in Maine’s marine fisheries

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Zydlewski (UM), Mills (GMRI)
Sponsors: NOAA
Starting date: 2023
Award Amount: $59,902

2021

American Lobster Settlement Index – Revealing Deepwater Lobster Settlement Across Thermal Gradients in the Gulf of Maine

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Brown (Ready Seafood Co.)
Sponsors: Red Lobster, Cranberry Isles Fishermen Co-Op, and Ready Seafood Co.
Duration: 1 year
Starting date: 2021
Award Amount: $75,000

Building a US-Canadian Research Network to Evaluate and Adapt to Arctic Influences on the Rapidly Changing Northwest Atlantic Lobster Fishery

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Remy Rochette (University of New Brunswick)
Sponsors: UMaine Arctic
Duration: 1 year
Starting date: 2021
Award Amount: $25,000

An Ecosystem-Based Approach to American Lobster Habitat and Trophic Dynamics: Integrated Modeling to Evaluate Climate-related Impacts

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Brady (UM), Wahle (UM)
Sponsors: US Department of Commerce
Duration: 2 years
Starting date: 2021
Award Amount: $ 539,957

2020

Improving Business Practices to Reduce Mortality in the Lobster Supply Chain
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Bouchard (UM), Brady (UM)
Sponsor: National Marine Fisheries Services Saltonstall-Kennedy
Starting Date: September 1, 2020
Duration: 2 years
Award amount: $299,106

Early life history of American lobsters in coastal Southern NE waters

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: National Sea Grant Program & ME Dept Marine Resources
Starting Date: September 1, 2020 – August 21. 2022
Duration: 2 years
Award amount: $399,000

Adapting Science and Management to the Global Rise of Crustacean Fisheries

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: Environmental Defense Fund/ Pew Charitable Trust
Duration: 2 years
Award amount: $132,727

Evaluating the effect of thermal habitat on American lobster (Homarus americanus) life history and distributions in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Banks, and Southern New England

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept of Commerce
Duration: 2 years
Award amount: $161,332

A Framework to Assess and Forecast Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Fish Stocks in a Changing Environment

College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept of Commerce
Duration: 2 years
Award amount: $201,551

2019

Bridging the Great Disconnect- Linking the Gulf of Maine pelagic food web to lobster recruitment dynamics: Part II – Lab and Field Studies
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Fields & Countway (Bigelow Lab), Lasley-Rasher (USM), Carloni (NH F&G)
Sponsor: NOAA-National Sea Grant
Starting date: 2019
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $399,000

American Lobster Settlement Index Oversight
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: ME DMR
Starting date: 2019
Duration:1 year
Award Amount: $5,000

Revealing Deepwater Lobster Settlement Across Thermal Gradients in the Gulf of Maine Yr 2
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Brown (Ready Seafood Co.)
Sponsors: Ready Seafood Co., Santa Monica Seafood
Duration: 1 year
Starting date: 2018
Award Amount: $75,000

Omega Lobster Bait Project
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Bouchard (UM)
Sponsor: Omega Protein, Inc.
Starting date: 2019
Duration: 1 year
Award Amount: $51,790

Track 1 – Graduate Support to Enhance Collaborative Research with Maine’s Lobster Industry
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Brady (UM), Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: UMS Research Reinvestment Fund
Starting date: 2019
Duration: 1 year
Award Amount: $31,132

RII Track 1: Molecule to Ecosystem: Environmental DNA as a Nexus of Coastal Ecosystem Sustainability for Maine (e-DNA) (Maine EPSCoR)
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Varahramyan & many co-investigators (Wahle share) (UM)
Sponsor: NSF-EPSCoR
Starting date: 2019
Duration: 5 years
Award Amount: $2,877,854

Aquaculture Workforce Development: Certificate in Applied Sustainable Aquaculture
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Bouchard (UM)
Sponsors: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, US Dept. of Commerce
Starting date: 2019
Duration:
Award Amount: $123,735

Adaptation to Change in the Maine Lobster Fishery
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Commerce
Starting date: 2019
Duration:
Award Amount: $145,277

Developing a management strategy evaluation framework for the Maine lobster fishery in a changing Gulf of Maine
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Marine Resources
Starting date: 2019
Duration:
Award Amount: $189,361

Evaluate effectiveness of current sea sampling ventless trap and ME-NH and NEFSC bottom trawl surveys in monitoring lobster stock in a changing Gulf of Maine
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Marine Resources
Starting date: 2019
Duration:
Award Amount: $47,214

Evaluating impacts of conservation measures on lobster population dynamics in a changing Gulf of Maine
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Marine Resources
Starting date: 2019
Duration:
Award Amount: $87,732

Project and evaluate impacts of environmental variations on the spatio-temporal distributions of lobster population and suitable habitat in the Gulf of Maine
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Marine Resources
Starting date: 2019
Duration:
Award Amount: $87,732

The consequences of a changing environment to the health of American lobsters
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Hamlin (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Commerce
Starting date: 2019
Duration:
Award Amount: $154,219

Are lobster landings about to decline in coastal Maine? A proposal to study multiple lines of evidence for long-term demographic trends
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Steneck (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Commerce
Starting date: 2019
Duration:
Award Amount: $229,874

Do small female lobsters produce lower quality eggs?
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Fields (Bigelow Laboratory), Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Commerce
Starting date: 2019
Duration: 1 year
Award Amount: $59,711

2018

Bridging the spawner-recruit disconnect: Investigating linkages between larval lobster and the pelagic food web: Part I – Time Series Analysis
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: ME DMR
Starting date: 2018
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $40,000

Technical Assistance to Small Fisheries and Aquaculture-related Business in Maine’s Easter Coastal Counties
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Bartlett (UM), Morse (UM), Springule (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA – Maine Sea Grant
Starting date: 2018
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $26,161

Reconciling multiple stakeholders in rockweed habitats: Science to help achieve intersecting goals of a fishery and coastal wildlife
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Klemmer (UM), Olsen (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA – Maine Sea Grant
Starting date: 2018
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $49,085

Deepwater settlement across the Gulf of Maine’s steep thermal gradients
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Brown (Ready Seafood Co.)
Sponsor: Ready Seafood Co.
Starting date: 2018
Duration: 1 year
Award Amount: $75,000

Monitoring juvenile American lobster to forecast productivity in the growing Newfoundland lobster fishery
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Le Bris (Memorial University Newfoundland), Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: MEOPPAR Canada
Starting date: 2018
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $ 75,000

Enhancing profitability of Maine’s lobster fishery
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Brown (Ready Seafood Co.), Wahle (UM)
Sponsors: MTI-MTAF Grant, Ready Seafood Co.
Starting date: 2018
Duration: 1 year
Award Amount: $50,000

Do small female lobsters produce lower quality eggs?
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Fields (Bigelow Laboratory), Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA – SK
Starting date: 2017
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $59,711

A Proactive Approach to Addressing Lobster Health Yr. 2
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: School of Food and Agriculture
Investigator: Bayer (UM), Hamlin (UM)
Sponsor: ME Dept. of Marine Resources
Starting date: 2016
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $1,671

A new era in stock assessment of the American Lobster – Yr 5
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: ME Dept. of Marine Resources
Starting date: 2013
Duration: 5 years
Award Amount: $28,438

A Proactive Approach to Addressing Lobster Health Yr 2
College: President’s Office
Unit: Cooperative Extension
Investigator: Bouchard (UM)
Sponsor: ME Dept. of Marine Resources
Starting date: 2016
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $28,418

2017

Assessing the potential for sustainability of fishing-dependent communities in coastal Maine in the face of environmental and socioeconomic
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Leslie (UM), Stoll (UM), Anderson (UM), Wilson (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA
Starting date: 2017
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $275,308

Genetic and phenotypic response of larval American lobster to ocean warming and acidification across New England’s steep thermal gradient
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Fields (Bigelow Laboratory)
Sponsor: NOAA – OA Program & Sea Grant
Starting date: 2017
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $153,099

A Proactive Approach to Addressing Lobster Health
College: Engineering
Unit: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Investigators: Bouchard (UM), Hamlin (UM), MacRae (UM), Bayer (UM)
Sponsor: ME DMR
Starting date: 2017
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $33,431

Incorporating Environmental Variables to improve assessment and predictive capacity for American lobster in a Changing Gulf of Maine and Southern New England
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA – SK
Starting date: 2017
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $173,287

RRF Undergrad Internship: Increasing the value of Maine’s lobster fishery by improving shell quality and meat yield
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: UMS Research Reinvestment Fund
Starting date: 2017
Duration: 1 year
Award Amount: $ 7,000

A new era in stock assessment of the American lobster – Yr 4
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Marine Resources
Starting date: 2013
Duration: 4 years
Award Amount: $40,525

Evaluating Maine Lobster Monitoring Program
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Marine Resources
Starting date: 2017
Duration:
Award Amount: $28,670

Maine Lobster Collaborative: Bridging the great disconnect- Linking the Gulf of Maine food web to larval recruitment
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: US Dept. of Marine Resources
Starting date: 2017
Duration:
Award Amount: $45,788

Revealing Deepwater Lobster Settlement Across Thermal Gradients in the Gulf of Maine
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA
Starting date: 2017
Duration:
Award Amount: $93,176

Assessing the Impact of Environmental Change on the Recruitment of Lobsters off Southeastern New England
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA
Starting date: 2017
Duration:
Award Amount: $48,356

2016

Understanding the effects of changing ocean ecosystems on lobster health and susceptible to disease in the context of rising water temperatures
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Cooperative Extension
Investigators: Bouchard (UM), Hamlin (UM), MacRae (UM), Bayer (UM)
Sponsor: ME DMR
Starting date: 2016
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $127,482

Evaluating Lobster Sea and Port Sampling Programs and Effectiveness of Conservation Measures
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: ME DMR
Starting date: 2016
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $25,000

Supporting decision-making under climate variability and change: multi-scale forecasting of the Maine lobster fishery
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA
Starting date: 2016
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $58,053

Enhancing the value of the American Lobster Settlement Index
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Maine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Brady (UM), Shank (NMFS)
Sponsor: UMS Research Reinvestment Fund
Starting date: 2016
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $100,000

Modeling the Impact of Climate Change on Larval Connectivity and Recruitment of the American Lobster off of Southern New England
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Churchill (WHOI), Wahle (UM), Cowles (UMA, Dartmouth), Pugh (MA, DMF)
Sponsor: NOAA – Sea Grant
Starting date: 2016
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $48,356

Revealing Deepwater Lobster Settlement Across Thermal Gradients in the Gulf of Maine
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Reardon (ME DMR)
Sponsor: NOAA – Sea Grant
Starting date: 2016
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $150,000

2015

Maine EPSCoR: The Nexus of Coastal Marine Social-Environmental Systems and Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Anderson (UM), Brady UM), Bricknell (UM), Hamlin (UM), Bouchard (UM)
Sponsor: NSF
Starting date: 2015
Duration: 5 years
Award Amount: $600,000

Improving survivability of cusk and Atlantic cod bycatch discarded in the Gulf of Maine lobster trap fishery
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Chen (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA-SK
Starting date: 2015
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $229,243

Using the American Lobster Settlement Index and Environmental Indicators in Fishery Forecasting and Stock Assessment
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Pershing (GMRI), Shank (NMFS)
Sponsor: NOAA-FATE
Starting date: 2014
Duration: 3 years
Award Amount: $134,827

Supplementary support for Maine DMR lobster growth and age determination project
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA-Maine, Sea Grant
Starting date: 2015
Duration: 5 years
Award Amount: $46,550

The effects of regional temperature cycles on the development and disease susceptibility of the American lobster (Homarus americanus)
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Hamlin (UM), Bricknell (UM), Bayer (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA
Starting date: 2015
Duration:
Award Amount: $199,613

2014

Supplementary support for Maine DMR lobster growth and age determination project
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Wahle (UM), Kilada (UNB), Ambrose (Bates College)
Sponsor: ME DMR
Starting date: 2013-2018
Duration: 5 years
Award Amount: $250,000

American Lobster Settlement Index Oversight
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: ME DMR
Starting date: 2014
Duration: 1 year
Award Amount: $5,000

Collaborative Research: Strengthening the scientific basis for decision-making: Advancing knowledge-action capacities in a coupled coastal-inland system
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Anderson (UM)
Sponsor: NSF
Starting date: 2014
Duration: 5 years
Award Amount: $120,000

Coastal SEES (Track 2), Collaborative Research: Resilience and Adaptation of a Coastal Ecological-Economic System in Response to Increasing Temperature
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Chen (UM), Thomas (UM), Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: NSF
Starting date: 2014
Duration: 4 years
Award Amount: $139,713

The effects of regional temperature cycles on the development and disease susceptibility of the American lobster (Homarus americanus)
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigators: Hamlin (UM), Bricknell (UM), Bayer (UM), Bouchard (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA-SK
Starting date: 2014
Duration: 2 years
Award Amount: $249,516

2013

Revealing Deepwater Lobster Settlement Across Thermal Gradients in the Gulf of Maine
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA
Starting date: 2013
Duration:
Award Amount: $93,176

A new era in stock assessment of the American lobster
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: ME DMR
Starting date: 2013-2018
Duration: 5 years
Award Amount: $250,000

Evaluating the American Lobster Settlement Index in Fishery Forecasting
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Wahle (UM)
Sponsor: ALSF
Starting date: 2013
Duration:
Award Amount: $12,000

Aquaculture in Shared Waters
College: Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Unit: Marine Sciences
Investigator: Johnson (UM)
Sponsor: NOAA
Starting date: 2013
Duration:
Award Amount:

Lobster Institute