Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, collaborates with lobstermen, scientists and members of the community to:
- Support a healthy lobster fishery within the Gulf of Maine
- Conduct vessel-based field work
- Protect and sustain the resource
- Encourage good stewardship of the marine environment
- Provide outreach, education and economic opportunities
Mission
Our mission is to protect and sustain a healthy lobster fishery through research, industry collaboration, and stewardship.
History
In response to the growing demand for improved lobster science and the need to establish long-term data sets, members of the Maine lobster industry established the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (GOMLF) in 2000. During the past ten years GOMLF has managed and administered over 20 projects geared towards improving the science, management and sustainability of the resource. With a Board of Directors made primarily of lobstermen and a direct line to fishermen who are willing to collaborate, GOMLF is able to communicate directly with the lobster industry on issues they see facing the fishery.
Some of our projects such as eMOLT (Environmental Monitors on Lobster Traps) started over a decade ago and lobstermen are still using lobster traps to collect bottom temperatures from their original sites. At the same time over the course of 3 years, GOMLF has collected over 2 million pounds of floating groundlines in order to help lobstermen comply with federal regulations. We have increased the number of collaborators through our various projects and continue to reach out to other organizations who look to the lobster industry as a wealth of information about the Gulf of Maine marine ecosystems.
GOMLF takes pride in all the work that has been accomplished and look forward to continuing our collaborative research with lobstermen, scientists and managers within the Gulf of Maine.