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1985 Study on Effects of Trawling on Lobster
Perhaps the most definitive study
conducted on the effect of trawling on lobsters was performed by the
state of Connecticut in 1985. In response to a conflict
between commercial trap and trawl fishermen, the Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) conducted an 18 month investigation of trawl-caught lobsters, titled
A Study of Lobster Fisheries in the Connecticut
Waters of Long Island Sound with Special Reference to the Effects of
Trawling on Lobsters.
The study was unique in that it
measured effects both on board vessels, and on the bottom of the
ocean floor. Divers observed how lobsters were caught in the
course of trawl operations.
The report concluded that damage
to egg-bearing and hardshell lobsters was negligible. Damage
to softshell lobsters was more pronounced, but they were
infrequently encountered. The results are similar to federal
fishery observations suggesting minimal rates of damage to lobsters
harvested in the trawl fishery.
More
The DEP concluded that the conflict
was rooted in resource allocation, not resource conservation.
However, it did recommend limits on the number of lobsters trawlers
could retain - limits which were ultimately adopted by the federal
government, and are in place today in every state except Maine.
The following links contain
excerpts from the report:
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