Sternman Mike Hooper and lobsterman Dave Morrey haul traps in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Morrey's business is prospering despite, or perhaps because of, regulations that specify which lobsters may be taken.
Lobsters are more plentiful than ever in Maine.
Year after year, lobstermen are hauling in record catches. Yet after 35 years of fishing the tasty crustaceans, Steve Taylor's being forced to cut his operation nearly in half. Acting on the advice of researchers, who suspect the lobster population is on the verge of collapse, northeastern states such as Maine have restricted the number of traps lobstermen can use to 1,000 this year and 800 next year. For Taylor, who spent thousands of dollars building up his business to 1,400 traps, that means more than a 40 percent drop in income. Annual landings have more than doubled in recent years, thanks to favorable conditions for lobsters.