Late last summer, lobstermen started noticing their catches were either dead or dying before they even got back to the dock. By November, catch rates had plummeted 90 percent, fueling fears the nation's No. 3 lobster market may be completely wiped out.
Marine biologists think a disease caused by a parasite is to blame.
More than 1300 lobstermen on both sides of Long Island Sound knew they needed help. Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat from New York, said he has asked Commerce Secretary William Daley to declare the Sound a federal disaster area, echoing a call made earlier this week by Connecticut Govoner John Rowland. The declaration would clear the way for grants to determine the cause of the outbreak and ways of preventing its return. There are about 900 licensees from New York and another 400 in Connecticut who earn a living fishing for lobster. New York ranked behind only Maine and Massachusetts in lobster production last year, with 8.5 million pounds.