ABC News interviews Steneck about Maine lobsters
Robert Steneck, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Maine, spoke with ABC News for a report about Maine lobsters. The news team traveled to Bar Harbor to determine why the crustacean off the coast of Maine is considered one of the most delicious and coveted on the planet, and if its survival is threatened, according to the report. “The environment in Maine — it’s a rocky shore — so it has that kind of nursery habitat that lobsters like,” said Steneck, who has studied lobsters in Maine for more than 30 years. “But probably more importantly, there are temperatures that are too warm, and there are temperatures that are too cold. Maine happens to be sitting in the sweet spot of being in exactly the right temperature.” As booming as Maine’s lobster business is, the past decade has seen a decline in the lobster populations from Rhode Island to Long Island, the report states. “The thing that we’re watching is climate change,” Steneck said. “We know that in areas to the south, for example, off of Rhode Island, 1998 was the warmest year on the planet. That year a shell disease broke out, and the lobster populations declined by 80 percent.” Fortunately for Maine, Steneck doesn’t see anything similar happening in the near future, ABC News reported.