Estimating Spatial Non-stationarity of American Lobster

Principal Investigator: Yong Chen (Zoology & Marine Science, UMaine)

Partners: Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Abstract: American lobster supports the most valuable fishery in the state of Maine, with annual estimated revenue in excess of $464 million in 2014. The Gulf of Maine (GoM) lobster stock accounts for approximately 94% of total U.S. landings, and has experienced significant expansion in both effort and landings over the last 60 years. This proposal seeks the support of a GA to assist in the development of a modeling framework to incorporate environmental variability into assessment and management of GoM lobster stock using both modeling and simulation studies.