Table of Contents

• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Related Datasets
• Parameters
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Program Information

"Inshore/Offshore Patterns of Lobster (Homarus americanus) Larvae and Postlarvae in the Northern Gulf of Maine, with Implications for Spatial Relationships Between Egg Production and Settlement"

Project Leader: Lewis Incze, University of South Maine - Bioscience Research Institute
Additional Participants:
Proctor Wells, F/V Tenacious
Matthew Thomson, Cape Cod Commerical Hook Fisherman's Association
Eric Annis, Rugters University
Nicholas Wolff, University of South Maine - Bioscience Research Institute

"This project involved two field sampling efforts. The first was a two-year (2001-2002) study of the distribution, stage composition and abundance of lobster larvae and postlarvae and hydrography from the central coast of Maine to the Canadian border. Eight survey transects, conducted over a 2+ week period in the middle of the larva/postlarval season, went across-shelf from near shore to approximately the 150 m (82 fIn) isobath, crossing three hydrographic and current regimes: the inner shelf or near-shore; the Eastern Maine Coastal Current (EMCC); and the stratified offshore. The objective was to understand the contribution that each area might make to lobster recruitment, both temporally and spatially. For example, the EMCC seems to move early life stages down to the central coast: how many, and where do these end up settling? How important is this compared to other processes driving postlarval abundance in that region? How many move offshore? A series of hypotheses dealing with the three regimes can be partially addressed by the survey design. The second sampling effort was directed at larval and postlarval production estimates along the central coast of Maine, immediately west of the surveys described above. This one-year effort involved a season-long study of all stages that complemented a preliminary study done in 2000. The study found that the settled abundance of Young-of-Year lobsters is determined to a significant degree by the abundance and delivery of postlarvae to appropriate settlement habitats. Settlement densities and the productivity of the lobster fishery in Maine are distinctly different east and west of Penobscot Bay. The research is helping understand the mechanisms behind those differences. More specific research has continued on egg production, circulation modeling, settlement, growth, and fisheries production. It is funded by NOAA Fisheries Coastal Ocean Program to L. Incze and ten co-PI's." extracted from: Summary of Completed Cooperative Research Projects Funded by the Northeast Consortium, January 2006

Note:
This lobster_larvae data set is complemented by a CTD hydrographic survey also located on this site (see "Related Datasets section).

For Questions Contact:
Nicholas Wolff
University of Southern Maine
Bioscience Research Institute
Portland, ME 04101

phone: 207 228-809
e-mail: nwolff@maine.edu

revised August 30, 2006; gfh 

The study found that the settled abundance of Young-of-Year lobsters is determined to a significant degree by the abundance and delivery of postlarvae to appropriate settlement habitats. Settlement densities and the productivity of the lobster fishery in Maine are distinctly different east and west of Penobscot Bay. The research is helping understand the mechanisms behind those differences. More specific research has continued on egg production, circulation modeling, settlement, growth, and fisheries production. It is funded by NOAA Fisheries Coastal Ocean Program to L. Incze and ten co-PIs."

"This project involved two field sampling efforts. The first was a two-year (2001-2002) study of the distribution, stage composition and abundance of lobster larvae and postlarvae and hydrography from the central coast of Maine to the Canadian border. Eight survey transects, conducted over a 2+ week period in the middle of the larva/postlarval season, went across-shelf from near shore to approximately the 150 m (82 fIn) isobath, crossing three hydrographic and current regimes: the inner shelf or near-shore; the Eastern Maine Coastal Current (EMCC); and the stratified offshore. The objective was to understand the contribution that each area might make to lobster recruitment, both temporally and spatially. For example, the EMCC seems to move early life stages down to the central coast: how many, and where do these end up settling? How important is this compared to other processes driving postlarval abundance in that region? How many move offshore? A series of hypotheses dealing with the three regimes can be partially addressed by the survey design. The second sampling effort was directed at larval and postlarval production estimates along the central coast of Maine, immediately west of the surveys described above. This one-year effort involved a season-long study of all stages that complemented a preliminary study done in 2000.

The Northeast Consortium encourages and funds cooperative research and monitoring projects in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank that have effective, equal partnerships among fishermen, scientists, educators, and marine resource managers.

The Northeast Consortium seeks to fund projects that will be conducted in a responsible manner. Cooperative research projects are designed to minimize any negative impacts to ecosystems or marine organisms, and be consistent with accepted ethical research practices, including the use of animals and human subjects in research, scrutiny of research protocols by an institutional board of review, etc.

At the 2008 Maine Fisheremen's Forum, the Northeast Consortium organized a session on data collection and availability. Participants included several key organizations in the Gulf of Maine area, sharing what data are out there and how you can find them. 

The Northeast Consortium has joined the Gulf of Maine Ocean Data Partnership. The purpose of the GoMODP is to promote and coordinate the sharing, linking, electronic dissemination, and use of data on the Gulf of Maine region.

The Northeast Consortium was created in 1999 to encourage and fund effective, equal partnerships among commercial fishermen, scientists, and other stakeholders to engage in cooperative research and monitoring projects in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. The Northeast Consortium consists of four research institutions (University of New Hampshire, University of Maine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), which are working together to foster this initiative.

The Northeast Consortium administers nearly $5M annually from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for cooperative research on a broad range of topics including gear selectivity, fish habitat, stock assessments, and socioeconomics. The funding is appropriated to the National Marine Fisheries Service and administered by the University of New Hampshire on behalf of the Northeast Consortium. Funds are distributed through an annual open competition, which is announced via a Request for Proposals (RFP). All projects must involve partnership between commercial fishermen and scientists.

The Northeast Consortium seeks to fund projects that will be conducted in a responsible manner. Cooperative research projects should be designed to minimize any negative impacts to ecosystems or marine organisms, and be consistent with accepted ethical research practices, including the use of animals and human subjects in research, scrutiny of research protocols by an institutional board of review, etc.