An introduction to the American Lobster Research and Extension Initiative, a project of seven Northeast Sea Grant programs including Connecticut Sea Grant. The newsletter is part of the regional Lobster Extension Program to complement and enhance the research component of NOAA Sea Grant’s American Lobster Initiative.
Each of the seven Sea Grant programs involved is leading a specific component of the project. In its role, Connecticut Sea Grant is working collaboratively to plan an annual conference and share research results. It is also helping synthesize previous research on American lobster to provide scientists, managers and extension professionals with a “status of knowledge” summary for this resource. In addition, the Connecticut and New York Sea Grant programs will be conducting interviews with members of the Southern New England lobster fishing community and state resource managers to document their experiences before, during and after the crash of the fishery in the 1990s.
This issue of the newsletter gives a description of the lobster initiative; summaries of 16 research projects from 2019 through 2022; and a summary of a new publication, Regulation of Lobster Bait Alternatives in New England.
Download the newsletter here.