The end of lobster: Who cares?

Over the summer it will be decided whether to close the southeast New England lobster fishery to permit lobster populations to rebuild.

The lobster population in the southern portion of its range has been on a dramatic decline for some time now for no conclusive reason. My guess from reading the scientific papers is is a combination of environmental pollution, ocean warming and ocean acidification. Either way, the lobsters are disappearing and those that are left are often affected by shell disease- not pretty and definitely not something you want to see on your plate.

In discussing the appropriateness of closing the lobster fishery to deal with this problem, two related issues jump up: (1) Since no one is suggesting that overfishing is causing this problem, why will stopping fishing help? and (2) If any of the usual suspects are at play (pollution, temperature and acidification), how will closing the fishery deal with these underlying causes?

The fact is that most likely lobster in its southern is done for without dramatic changes to environmental policy. I had one person suggest that with this being the case, and if the lobsters are really done for, why even bother protecting them? This question reflects a pretty common opinion actually.

So many people I meet with hear the dire conditions our ocean fisheries are in and they wonder why they should make the "right" choice and eat only sustainable seafood and support limited fishing when everyone else continues to enjoy all that great Chilean Seabass and Bluefin tuna? This view reflects a sense of hopelessness and a live for the moment attitude created by the complete domination of industrialized fishing/agri-business as supported by our own government that has tainted our entire food supply system.

Well the fact is that we can make a difference by supporting sustainable food producers and companies like ours that do the right thing. It may be a small difference now, but think back a few years ago when the Prius was an oddity on our roads- proof that people doing the right thing can have a real impact.

My hope is that closing the lobster fishery is the right thing and will bring two benefits: (1) Permit research into what is causing the severe population decline so that it does not spread to other areas; and (2) Highlighting how fragile our marine resources are.

I am deeply saddened by the state of the lobster population, as I it has been such a big part of my diet for a long time. I hope that the fact that yet another iconic species is disappearing from our tables will encourage us all to reflect on what we eat and make choices that reflect a commitment to saving our planet and oceans. In the mean time, we need to be cognizant that we may be the last generation that enjoys lobster and so many other species unless we take a stand by supporting those fighting the good fight.