Research led by Joshua Stoll receives funding through American Lobster Initiative and the Mitchell Center

Research on vulnerability and resilience in the American lobster fishery led by Joshua Stoll, an assistant professor in the School of Marine Sciences and Mitchell Center faculty fellow, has been awarded a two-year grant as part of NOAA National Sea Grant’s American Lobster Initiative, according to a news release from Maine Sea Grant.

The project, “Fishing in Hot Water: Defining Sentinel Indicators of Resilience in the American Lobster Fishery,” also received a Mitchell Center seed grant.

The Maine lobster fishery is among the most valuable commercial fisheries in the United States and supports thousands of jobs in coastal communities across the state. Yet it also faces serious challenges related to climate change, trade and marine mammal entanglement.

Although there are multiple monitoring programs that are used to track the status of the lobster resource in Maine, no equivalent system exists to understand the status of participants in the lobster fishery.

Josh is collaborating on the project with colleagues from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, Maine Lobstermen’s Association, Lobster Institute, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Southeast Fisheries Science Center.