Stories from the American Lobster Initiative

How has the American lobster industry fared in the face of ecosystem changes in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and southern New England?

This fall, WHOI Sea Grant released the final installment in a series of interactive StoryMaps highlighting research projects funded by the Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative (ALI), to explore questions around the biological, economic and social impacts of these environmental changes. Created by intern Simonne Dodge, the StoryMaps report on the 24 research projects that were funded between 2019 and 2022, highlighting the people behind the science, and what the findings mean for the lobsters and fishermen.  Grouped into a set of six StoryMaps, the research projects cover topics of critical importance to the industry: lobster reproduction, larvae and juveniles, growth, predation and pressures, as well as the socioeconomic shifts in the lobster industry and efforts to develop new gear technologies.

You can explore the complete set of ALI StoryMaps including an overview of the lobster industry, in the collection “A Fishery in a Sea of Change.”  Watch for these stories to appear in print monthly in the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association (MLA) newspaper! You can share feedback on these StoryMaps by emailing lobster@whoi.edu.