Undergraduate students in Biosystems Science at UMaine, working on their senior research projects under the direction of the Lobster Institute, are using hand-held glucose monitors, similar to those used by diabetics, to conduct blood glucose sampling as a possible means of determining stress levels in lobsters. Initial tests indicate the use of the monitors to be effective, and also show an elevated blood glucose level may be a valid stress indicator. The trap will be baited, hauled, and if you re lucky, you may get to see the fisherman pull the days catch out of the parlor. According to Bill Batty of Midcoast Internet, which host the site, Last year s model showed us that the concept worked. About Stock Assessment Scientists have been struggling for years with the challenge of accurately assessing the lobster population.
Recent reports vary and the challenge continues.
On the one hand, a team of scientists from the University of Maine and the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences has found early indications of a decline in the lobster population in the Gulf of Maine. The abundance of juvenile lobsters in key lobster producing regions of mid-coast Maine appears to be declining, say Robert Steneck of the UMaine School of Marine Sciences and Lew Incze and Richard Wahle of Bigelow. We expect landings in those regions and possibly elsewhere to decline sometime during the next two to four years. On the other hand, findings reported from Drs. According to Cowan, Plausible explanations for the differences between the data sets include when and where abundance was measured.