Researchers speak with Penobscot Bay Press about social factors influencing lobster industry
Theresa Burnham, a postdoctoral research associate with the University of Maine; Carla Guenther, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries chief scientist; and Josh Stoll, assistant professor of marine policy at UMaine, spoke with the Penobscot Bay Press about their research into socioeconomic factors affecting the health of the lobster industry. The researchers participated in a Feb. 25 online event hosted by the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries entitled “Developing Social Indicators of Resilience in Maine’s Lobster Fishery,” alongside Kathleen Reardon, senior lobster biologist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. Burnham told the Penobscot Bay Press, “Our project has the goal of allowing for monitoring of the human side of the fishery in an equally extensive way because those socioeconomic indicators are also critical, but for the resilience of lobstermen, and coastal communities in Maine.”