Food & Wine interviews Billings about Maine’s lobster industry
Food & Wine magazine spoke with Cathy Billings, associate director of communications and development at the University of Maine Lobster Institute, for the article, “Maine’s lobster industry thriving, despite slow start.” Conflicting news reports stated that the Maine lobster catch is either prospering or in decline, according to the article. Billings said one of the reasons the lobster catch seemed to be down was because the catch depends on when the lobsters start to molt, which happened late this year. “Overall the catch has been increasing. We have seen all-time highs over the past decade,” Billings said. However, the lobster catch is declining in other areas, the article states. Billings said lobster numbers have severely dropped south of Cape Cod. “People point to an increase in water temperature in those areas, and they don’t have the same tidal flushing action as the Gulf of Maine, so they could be experiencing more contaminates and other run off,” she cited as possible reasons for the decline.