Research team develops more holistic way to monitor lobster industry

Maine's lobster fishery—one that supports thousands of jobs statewide—is extensively monitored. Management efforts are informed by biological monitoring surveys observing changes in abundance and distribution of the lobster population, and dealer and harvester reporting from the industry. Yet these statistics don't tell the whole story of an industry shaken by supply and market disruptions and geopolitical conflict, or the welfare of the people and communities that rely on it.