Director Of Marine Fisheries Against Lobster Ban

Fisheries managers are meeting next week in Rhode Island to discuss a possible moratorium on lobster fishing in southern New England. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports.

Fisheries scientists say lobster populations along Long Island Sound and other parts of the southern New England coast have declined significantly since the mid 1990s. The Lobster Management Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering a range of options to stop the decline—including a five-year ban on lobster fishing. But David Simpson, Director of Marine Fisheries at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection says a ban is not the right way to go

“At this point I have not been convinced at all that that would be the right thing to do throughout southern New England.”

Simpson says there are other conservation measures that could be considered including limiting the number of lobster traps or continuing a program to reduce the catch of egg-bearing female lobsters. Simpson is one of three commissioners from Connecticut who together have one vote on new lobster regulations. New rules for lobster fishermen would not go into effect until next year.

For WNPR, I’m Nancy Cohen.