NOAA today announced final measures to better protect the larger American lobsters and breeding females that are important for sustaining these populations. There are also new measures that will improve data collection in the fishery and make state and federal lobster fishing regulations more consistent throughout lobster management areas, most of which include a combination of state and federal waters.
American lobsters are caught from Maine to the Mid-Atlantic states, mostly in coastal and nearshore waters that are divided into seven management areas, each with its own rules. To protect larger lobsters, most areas already have a maximum size limit for landed lobsters. However, that size varies depending on where the lobster is caught. To determine if a lobster is too large to land, fishermen measure the shell that covers a lobster’s body from behind the head to the beginning of the tail, called the carapace.
The first measure announced today makes the federal maximum legal size rules consistent with the lobster fishing rules for state waters. Beginning August 28, 2009 maximum legal sizes of 5 1/4 inches and 6 7/8 inches in carapace length will take effect throughout Southern New England and in offshore waters, respectively. Beginning July 1, 2010 a maximum size of 6 3/4 inches in carapace length will apply in the Outer Cape Cod lobster management area, and the offshore waters maximum size will reduce to 6 3/4 inches.