September 16, 2013 — Since the international recession hit in 2008, most fisheries have been in decline, especially lobster fisheries. Meanwhile, ocean temperatures in the southern New England coastal areas have risen causing a slew of problems for local lobster harvesters. Meanwhile, just up the coast, Maine's lobster populations are booming.
"Weather impacts every lobster season," Acting Director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council Marianne LaCroix said. "The timing and variations of air temperature, water temperature, snowfall and rainfall all work to create a unique situation each year."
The increase in ocean temperatures over the past few years have affected lobster fisheries in parts of New England as lobster populations seem to have disappeared from the area's waters.
"In southern New England, Buzzard Bay, Mass., and the waters off of Rhode Island, temperatures in the Long Island Sound area have become too warm for lobsters," Maine Lobstermen Association's Patrice McCarron said.
This summer alone, ocean temperatures in Buzzard Bay have been about 70 degrees, which is 3.6 degrees above normal. Central Long Island Sound water temperatures have been 2.7 degrees above normal, reaching 71 degrees.
These unusually warm water temperatures, according to scientists, could be the cause of the diminishing supply in the southern New England areas.
Read the full story from AccuWeather