Baby lobster abundance suggests strong harvests will continue

Lobster fishermen and government officials are seeing indications are that lobster stocks will be plentiful in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for the next few years at least.

Fishermen have been reporting a lot of smaller lobsters in their traps this year, which Fisheries and Oceans Canada preliminary monitoring has confirmed.

Amelie Rondeau of Fisheries and Oceans said the abundance of lobsters has been building in the last five years, with lobster landings going up as well.

"All the stars are aligned: favourable environmental conditions, combined with proper management of the stocks," said Rondeau.

Protection for females

"In the past decade or two we've increased the minimum legal size, we've been adding protection to those big, egg-bearing females, so all that led to an increase in the lobster production and lobster abundance."

Rondeau said it will be two or three years before these small lobsters are ready to be harvested, so things are looking positive for the near future.

She believes warming ocean conditions have been good for gulf lobsters, expanding lobster territory, and offering more shelter and food.

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