Lobstermen are troubled, researchers are investigating the deaths, and newspapers are publicizing the problem. In the fall of 1998, lobster deaths and reports of a new disease were coming in from widely dispersed geographical locations. In the fall of 1999, the focus zeroed in on Long Island Sound, where the second successive year of high mortality was taking a toll on lobster landings. Elsewhere, landings remained high.
Lobsters are long-lived animals.
Their natural life expectancy is estimated to be somewhere between 50 and 100 years. For some reason, lobsters in Long Island Sound don't seem to grow this large or live this long. They grow faster than lobsters elsewhere and have a life expectancy of only five or six years. Large lobsters seem to be extremely rare or non-existent in the sound. Small lobsters molt more frequently than large lobsters.