Maine Public interviews Steneck about discontinuation of lobster season forecast
Maine Public spoke with Bob Steneck, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Maine, for the report, “Researchers discontinue annual lobster season forecast after complaints from industry.” Portland’s Gulf of Maine Research Institute is dropping its yearly forecast of when lobster landings in Maine will begin their annual surge. The move comes after criticism from Maine’s lobster industry about the report’s timing and accuracy, and its effect on lobster prices, according to the report. Steneck said it’s important to continue baseline research on conditions in the Gulf of Maine, which is warming faster than most other water bodies in the world. “Ocean temperature clearly really drives a lot of this fishery. It affects how the larval lobster settle and, of course, you won’t see that for 7–10 years. It affects growth rates, it affects migration and movement patterns,” he said.