Lobster Suffering From Shell Disease
Rhode Island- A team of leading scientists has received $2.3 million to study lobster shell disease, which is believed to have contributed to dramatic lobster declines in Buzzards Bay and other southern New England waters. The New England Lobster Research Initiative, funded through a congressional appropriation, will support nine studies examining the transmission and effects of the disease, as well as environmental factors that might make lobsters more vulnerable. Researchers from UMass Amherst, Boston University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are among those involved in the project. The money also will pay for state surveys in Rhode Island and Maine to monitor the disease in different lobster populations. It is an effort welcomed by lobster fishermen. The shell disease is caused by bacteria that invades the lobster’s shell and causes it to rot away. In severe cases, it keeps the lobster from molting and forming a new shell, which prevents growth and can lead to death. Southern New England has been hit especially hard by diminishing lobster stocks in the past decade. Lobster landings in Buzzards Bay alone declined by 50 percent from 1998-2004, according to state fisheries data. Their numbers have since risen slightly, but the outlook is still uncertain. Pollution, over fishing and a resurgence in numbers of lobster predators are other likely factors in the decline, but solving the mysteries of shell disease is a high priority for researchers.