Female lobster decline marks threat to industry

Egg-bearing lobsters that are caught, marked and returned to waters to sustain Maine’s lobster population have been declining since 2008, indicating another threat to the industry.

The Portland Press Herald reported that the percentage of egg-bearing lobsters with the state’s mandatory V-notch mark hit an all-time low for the last decade in 2013 at 61%, which state officials said is likely the result of lobstermen not complying with the state rule. The percentage of female lobsters with a V-notch peaked in 2008 at 82%.

The practice of V-notching, which began in 1917 and became mandatory in 2002, involves removing a tiny, triangular bit from tail flippers of egg-bearing lobsters caught in traps. The mark lasts for around two to three years and serves as an indicator to lobstermen that they should throw V-notched lobsters back into the water to sustain the overall lobster population.

The state Department of Marine Resources has projected that Maine’s lobster fishery could crumble within two decades if lobstermen stopped practicing the mandatory V-notch rule. It would take another decade if they cut their participation by 50% from the past several years. State officials noted the decline of lobsters could also be impacted by disease and rising ocean temperatures, among other factors, but said the drop in V-notch lobsters is still troubling.

A recent University of Maine survey found that young lobster populations in the Gulf of Maine have declined by 50% since 2007, indicating there could be less catch in the future when they reach legal harvesting size. Maine lobsters comprised 85% of the country’s total catch in 2012.