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L A N D I N G S
NEWS & VIEWS FROM MAINE'S LOBSTERING COMMUNITY
In January 2013, the MLCA launched Landings, a monthly newspaper which balances
its content amongst science, history, resource sustainability, economic development,
and human interest stories. Through Landings, MLCA educates the public and lobster
industry stakeholders about the unique characteristics of Maine’s lobstering traditions,
its history and heritage, ongoing research to maintain the sustainability of the resource,
and its non-harmful and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices.
Distributing more than 6,500 copies of this 24+page publication free via mail each
month to all of Maine’s commercial lobstermen, state government agency staff, elected
state officials, Congressional delegation, subscribers, marine businesses; and to the
public at various locations around the state including ferry terminals, marine supply
stores and annual educational forums.
Your Questions, Answered: Data from the Gulf of Maine
How do we know what is happening in the depths of the Gulf of Maine? One way is through a sophisticated network of deep-water buoys managed by the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS). Seven deep water oceanographic buoys in the Gulf that provide near real-time data on ocean conditions. Established in 2009, NERACOOS is a non-profit organization that serves as part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). Its primary miss
Apr 32 min read
Cold Water, Copepods Early Warnings of Right Whale Presence
By Julia Tilton, Maine Monitor. Reprinted with permission Karen Stamieszkin, a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, was out on the Gulf of Maine three years ago when she saw red pooling in different directions beneath the waves: a large spring bloom of plankton. “You could see these plumes of this fat, rich copepod population right at the surface,” said Stamieszkin, referring to a type of tiny crustacean. “That is what drives the Gulf of Maine’s
Mar 33 min read
Your Questions, Answered: What Eats Lobsters, Besides Us?
It was a brave soul who first decided to eat a lobster. With a formidable shell, spikes jutting out all over and two powerful claws, that long-ago diner must have been pretty hungry to even think about munching on such a fierce looking creature. Despite its rugged shell as an adult, young lobsters are on the menu of many other Gulf of Maine species. BDN photo. When a lobster is young, however, it is on the menu of many other creatures in the wild. As newly hatched lobster lar
Feb 22 min read
U.S., Canada Lobster Research Focus of Recent Symposium
By Chris Brehme, Lobster Institute Project Director The inaugural North American Lobster Science Symposium was held November 5th and 6th at the University of Maine’s Wells Conference Center in Orono. The conference showcased how rapidly changing oceans are reshaping lobster biology, fisheries, and coastal communities—and how collaborative research is stepping up to meet the moment. A new initiative of the Lobster Institute, the conference was co-hosted by Maine Sea Grant and
Dec 2, 20253 min read
Your Questions, Answered: Why Does the Ocean Freeze
But that wasn’t always the case. Maine’s bitter winter temperatures regularly caused the ocean to freeze, as early 1900’s photographs in the Penobscot Marine Museum collections illustrate. Large plates of sea ice would rise and fall with the tides, scouring coastal mud flats and the shore as they moved back and forth. Sometimes entire bays would freeze over as a result of long stretches of frigid weather, drawing people out onto the frozen ocean. People visited the Monument o
Dec 2, 20252 min read
Lobster Tagging Has a Long History
Scientists have tried many different methods to understand the movement of lobsters in the Gulf of Maine. The issue, of course, is that lobsters molt. How can one keep track of a creature that sheds its skin every year or so? Early tagging efforts were fairly simple. In 1873 the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries researchers tagged and released lobsters near Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to learn about migration patterns. They attached metal or brass bands to claws or the lob
Sep 26, 20252 min read
Your Questions, Answered: Where Do Lobsters Go?
Like people, some lobsters in the Gulf of Maine are homebodies, staying put in their burrows for most of the year. Others are more...
Sep 26, 20252 min read
Your Questions Answered: What Do Larval Lobsters Eat?
We all have to eat, even the smallest among us. Take a tiny lobster larva, for example. Just hatched after long months attached to its...
Aug 28, 20252 min read
Your Questions, Answered: Are Lobsters Leaving the Gulf of Maine?
True or false? Various news media report that lobsters in the Gulf of Maine are moving steadily to the northeast into Canada in their...
Jun 27, 20252 min read
Cooler Deep Water Predicted in the Gulf Again This Year
We might be feeling the summer’s warmth here in Maine this month but out in the Gulf of Maine things are a bit cooler. In fact, in the...
Jun 27, 20253 min read
New Gear Could Help Lobstermen Diversify Their Income
By Jim Leonard First published in Midcoast Villager A dimly lit shed in Thomaston, Maine, may turn out to be the birthplace of one of...
Jun 27, 20254 min read
NOAA Predicts a Warmer Summer, Cooler Waters in Northeast
By Melissa Waterman, adapted from The Maine Monitor Warm Summer The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA)...
Jun 27, 20253 min read
From the Archive: Published Study Proves Value of V-Notch and Oversize Rules
First published in the February 2018 issue of Landings . A new study, led by scientists at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and...
Jun 13, 20253 min read
From the Archive: V-Notch Survey Provides Critical Data
First published in the MLA Newsletter, March, 2011. How do you know if you are doing the right thing – not in the moral or legal sense,...
Jun 13, 20257 min read
Dr. Bob Steneck Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
University of Maine press release University of Maine professor emeritus Robert Steneck, who retired in 2023 after 41-year career at the...
Jun 3, 20253 min read
Winter Shrimp Survey Disappointing
It was big news earlier this winter when the Northern Shrimp Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) announced...
Jun 3, 20252 min read
Bigelow Laboratory Expands, Again
In June Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay will add the 25,000-square-foot Harold Alfond Center for Ocean Education...
Jun 3, 20251 min read
2025 Hurricane Season Predicted to be Active
NOAA press release The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast for the June 1 to November 30 Atlantic hurricane...
Jun 3, 20251 min read
Warming Gulf Still Has the Ability to Surprise
Scattered throughout the broad expanse of the Gulf of Maine are dozens of oceanographic buoys. Some have been operating for more than two...
Mar 3, 20252 min read
Your Questions, Answered: Why do lobsters come in different colors?
By Andrew Goode, University of Maine It seems every month the newspapers report on a lobsterman hauling a blue, yellow, even orange...
Mar 3, 20252 min read
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