Will This Help the Sound's Lobsters?

Connecticut may be on the verge of a program that it thinks will help Long Island Sound’s decimated lobster population. The environment committee Connecticut House voted for a bill that would require commercial lobstermen to return females to the Sound, after notching their tails; they can then turn the notches in to the state for a fee. The idea is to make sure there are plenty of females for breeding.

Of course if global warming and the rise in water temperatures that go with it are for real, programs like Connecticut’s may be a desperate attempt to save something that’s unsaveable. The Sound is at the southern end of the lobster’s inshore range and therefore might simply not be able to thrive here as before.

You can read a brief summary of the lobster situation here.