The american lobster settlement index (ALSI) is an international collaborative monitoring program that was initiated in maine in 1989 to track the health of juvenile american lobster populations at…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the University of Maine System $1 million on January 1, 2027, under the Congressionally Identified Awards and Projects program (CFDA 11.469) to support the American Lobster Settlement Index, an international collaborative monitoring program that tracks the health of juvenile American lobster populations at their most vulnerable life stage.

The award funds expansion and continuation of ALSI monitoring through two complementary survey methods: nearshore SCUBA surveys and passive bio-collectors deployed at deeper locations unsuitable for diving. The program monitors over 100 sites annually across Maine and beyond. The Maine Collector Survey component represents a direct science-industry collaboration that works with lobstermen to monitor juvenile lobster settlement patterns in deeper waters where ocean temperature changes may be shifting populations beyond the reach of inshore surveys. This distribution data informs both the fishing industry and management agencies on year-class strength and population health as a critical economic and cultural resource.

The award supports work performed in Orono, Maine, with a period of performance extending from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2029. The University of Maine's Research & Sponsored Program division is the recipient. The Congressionally Identified Awards and Projects program provides assistance to facilitate education, research, and development in marine and atmospheric science, with multi-year awards of up to five years subject to the availability of funds in subsequent fiscal years and recipient performance against project objectives.

The american lobster settlement index (ALSI) is an international collaborative monitoring program that was initiated in maine in 1989 to track the health of juvenile american lobster populations at their youngest, most vulnerable stage during their life history. The abundance of lobsters at this stage is the most accurate method in identifying the strength of individual year classes that make up future populations, and IT also provides crucial insight to the ecosystem-level processes that influence the current, and future health of this critically important economic and cultural resource. Patterns of lobster abundance from ALSI have been crucial in advancing scientific knowledge on lobster population dynamics that influence the fate of lobsters from hatch to harvest and have been used to accurately predict the surge and commensurate decline in regional landings that has occurred over the last ten years. The ALSI has monitored the health of juvenile lobster populations using scuba surveys nearshore and passive BIO-collectors deployed in locations too deep or unsafe for divers, supporting over 100 sites sampled annually. In maine, the collector survey represents a unique science-industry collaboration that investigates how the distribution of baby lobsters is changing over time alongside changes within the environment. As ocean temperatures rise past peak levels favorable to baby lobsters, their distributions may be shifting into deeper, cooler, more favorable habitats, potentially causing the inshore scuba census of the ALSI to not accurately reflect true year class strength of lobster populations. The maine collector survey aims to fill this information GAP by working directly with lobstermen to monitor deeper settlement patterns and to provide this critical information on the health of the resource to the fishing industry and management agencies. The maine collector survey has proven itself as a useful tool in monitoring juvenile lobster populations, yet there are still gaps left unaddressed. This program monitors two primary locations, northeast and southwest maine, yet does not monitor where lobster landings are the highest, have changed the most within the 21ST century, and are the most oceanographically complex within the entire gulf of maine. In addition, the maine collector survey has already demonstrated a shift in where baby lobsters are located. Since 2020 in southwestern maine, there have been more baby lobsters in the deepest areas monitored, a trend not captured by the standard scuba survey. This raises the questions; are we fully capturing the abundance of baby lobsters within maine? And are we missing lobsters that are deeper than what we currently observe? Expanding the maine collector survey at the epicenter of the fishery and expanding its extent to greater depths will undoubtedly be crucial in accurately assessing the status of the lobster resource in maine, fill a major GAP in information wanted by both the lobster industry and management agencies, and do so by directly partnering with members of the lobster industry and easing the financial burden that the industry has assumed by sponsoring this program to date.