An interstate regulatory group says the American lobster population is in decent shape off of Maine and Canada, but continues to decline in southern New England.
The stock assessment released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's American Lobster Board lines up with previous analyses of the lobster fishery. Lobster fishermen pulled in record catches of the crustaceans off Maine in the last decade, but the catch collapsed off more southern states such as Connecticut.
Scientists say environmental changes have made the more southern waters less hospitable for lobsters. Warming temperatures off southern New England have made it difficult for them to grow and reproduce.
