PORTLAND, Maine — Interstate fishing regulators could select new restrictions for the declining southern New England lobster fishery by May.
Lobster fishing is experiencing a boom, and prices have also been high. The species has dwindled in the waters off southern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, where it was once plentiful.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering a host of options to try to rejuvenate the lobster stock. An arm of the commission is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to send the options out for public comment.
The commission said selection of management measures will follow public comment. Possibilities include changing the legal harvesting size limit for lobsters, reducing the number of traps in the water and enforcing seasonal closures.