Increasing the Value of Maine’s Lobster Fishery by Improving Shell Quality and Meat Yield
Principal Investigator: Richard Wahle (UMaine, School of Marine Sciences and Darling Marine Center)
Partners: Curtis Brown (Ready Seafood Company)
Abstract: This project is a partnership between UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences and Ready Seafood Co. of Portland, ME. Our proposal seeks support for an undergraduate research assistant who will help initiate a pilot study to inform Maine’s lobster wholesalers and processors how to enhance the value of lobster within their facilities and set the stage for a more comprehensive proposal to NOAA’s Saltonstall-Kennedy Program in 2018. Lobster price is directly correlated with shell hardness because the harder the shell the better it will survive long-distance shipping. The objective of the proposed project is to use Ready Seafood’s new temperature controlled lobster holding facility to find the optimum combination of temperature and starting shell grade to maximize lobster shell quality while minimizing mortality during the holding period. The project has the potential to become an undergraduate Honors or Capstone project.