{"id":4810,"date":"2014-05-27T11:03:08","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T15:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/?p=4810"},"modified":"2014-05-27T11:03:22","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T15:03:22","slug":"2013-lobster-settlement-index-forecasts-downward-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/2013-lobster-settlement-index-forecasts-downward-trends\/","title":{"rendered":"2013 lobster settlement index forecasts downward trends"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WALPOLE, ME \u2013 Recent references at public meetings to marked declines in the settlement of young-of-the-year and juvenile lobsters all along the Maine coast (see CFN April 2014) were confirmed with the release of the 2013 American Lobster Settlement Index (ALSI) in early May.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe diver-based suction sampling survey, our longest ALSI time series, reveals the precipitous downturn in settlement in the Gulf of Maine from southwest Nova Scotia to Massachusetts,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n<p>This \u201cwidespread and deepening downturn over much of the species\u2019 range is heightening concerns for the future of the region\u2019s lobster fishery,\u201d the report continued.<\/p>\n<p>Now in its 24th year, the ALSI has a proven track record for predicting the abundance of lobsters available to harvesters down the road because the tiny lobsters collected by researchers typically recruit into the fishery anywhere from five to nine years later, depending on water temperatures and other factors affecting individual animals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t have a crystal ball.\u00a0 Our forecasting models are still in their infancy,\u201d said Rick Wahle of the University of Maine\u2019s Darling Marine Center, who co-authored the report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNonetheless, the benefit of the settlement index is that it could give us an early warning that we haven\u2019t had in the past and may give the industry and managers time to consider their options should there be an impending drop in landings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Further to the south, the news was ever so slightly better.\u00a0 While settlement south of Cape Cod remained barely detectable, small upticks were reported at sampled sites in Massachusetts\u2019 Buzzards Bay and, for the second year in a row, in Rhode Island.<\/p>\n<p>Coordinated by the University of Maine, the ALSI is the product of sampling work by fishermen\u2019s groups and fisheries agencies from Canada to Rhode Island, including:\u00a0 the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, the Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the University of New Brunswick, the Guysborough County Inshore Fishermen\u2019s Association of Nova Scotia, and the Fishermen and Scientists Research Society of Canada.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" alt=\"CFN-6_14cover\" src=\"https:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/CFN-6_14cover-242x300.jpg\" width=\"194\" height=\"240\" \/><em><strong>Read the rest and much, much more in the\u00a0June issue of Commercial Fisheries News.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read online\u00a0immediately and download for future reference.<\/p>\n<p>[add_to_cart=4774]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"ninja-children-wrap\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WALPOLE, ME \u2013 Recent references at public meetings to marked declines in the settlement of young-of-the-year and juvenile lobsters all along the Maine coast (see CFN April 2014) were confirmed with the release of the 2013 American Lobster Settlement Index (ALSI) in early May. \u201cThe diver-based suction sampling survey, our longest ALSI time series, reveals &hellip; 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