A new study finds that lobsters are relocating to new habitats in the Gulf of Maine.
The findings could have implications for how the lobster stock is measured and how the fishery is eventually managed.
Lobsters have typically favored rocky boulders and used those habitats as shelter. But a research team with the University of Maine found that the use of those habitats dropped by 60% over the last 25 years or so.
Lobsters are instead spending more time in sandy, open spaces or residing under beds of algae.
Damian Brady, an oceanography professor at the University of Maine's Darling Marine Center, said the findings challenge common assumptions fisheries managers have had about the species and the methods used to survey and assess the lobster population.
"The implications are that I just count up as much good habitat as out there and say that's the maximum amount of lobsters that should be in this area," he said. "And now we really can't hang our hat on that."
The study finds that lobsters are more widely distributed and venturing out into deeper waters, as the temperature in the Gulf of Maine has risen by 3 degrees Celsius over the last two-to-three decades.
Researchers also said the average lobster is larger today than it was 25 years ago, but a majority are still under the minimum legal size to be caught and sold.
