The Last Lobster: Boom or Bust for Maine's Greatest Fishery?
Business and economics, Environment, Science and technology
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
Summary
From the author of Skipjack The Melting World comes a mystery the curious boom in America s beloved lobster industry and its probable crashMaine lobstermen have happened upon a bonanza along their rugged picturesque… coast For the past five years the lobster population along the coast of Maine has boomed resulting in a lobster harvest six times the size of the record catch from the 1980s an event unheard of in fisheries In a detective story scientists and fishermen explore various theories for the glut Leading contenders are a sudden lack of predators and a recent wedge of warming waters which may disrupt the reproductive cycle a consequence of climate change Christopher White s The Last Lobster follows three lobster captains Frank Jason and Julie one the few female skippers in Maine as they haul and set thousands of traps Unexpectedly boom may turn to bust as the captains must fight a warming ocean volatile prices and rough weather to keep their livelihood afloat The three captains work longer hours trying to make up in volume what they lack in price As a result there are 3 million lobster traps on the bottom of the Gulf of Maine while Frank Jason and others call for a reduction of traps This may in boost prices The Maine lobstering towns are among the first American communities to confront global warming and the survival of the Maine Coast depends upon their efforts It may be an uphill battle to create a sustainable catch as high temperatures are already displacing lobsters northward toward Canadian waters out of reach of American fishermen The last lobster may be just ahead