Regulators delay lobster size limits for six months

MAINE PUBLIC • October 21, 2024

Fisheries regulators have given the lobster industry a brief reprieve by delaying new size limits for six months. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said increasing the minimum lobster size by fractions of an inch will help rebuild stocks affected by troubling declines in young lobsters. The commission's lobster board argue increasing the minimum catch size will let younger lobsters live longer and reproduce more. Board members voted overwhelmingly Monday to delay the rules during the commission's annual meeting. The restrictions were supposed to go into effect at the beginning of the year. But regulators hope that a delay will give the lobster industry time to adjust. It also gives extra space for Canadian regulators to add matching size restrictions.