Lobster now in a 'gilded trap,' scientist believes

Friendship Harbor - one of the busiest in Maine

Lobster now in a 'gilded trap,' scientist believes:
from Working Waterfront
 "Bob Steneck, an ecosystems researcher at the University of Maine, introduced the idea that Maine's lobster industry is stuck in a gilded trap. A gilded trap is created when a group's actions to improve or increase something valuable instead increases the risks of a collapse, he said.

The collapse of the cod fishery in the 1970s "gilded" the lobster industry by wiping out one of the lobsters' main predators, teaching fishermen to be more careful and resulting in perfect conditions for an explosion of the lobster population, Steneck said. However, the fishing industry is now trapped because it relies so heavily on lobster, so if something happens to that species, like the outbreak of shell disease seen in Long Island Sound, the economic consequences will be severe, he explained."

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