PROJECTS: Community Sea Samplers

The Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (GOMLF) places trained observers onto commercial lobster boats as part of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Sea Sampling Program. Lobstermen volunteer to host a community sampler for the day so they can collect catch and effort information and biological data on the day’s fishing activity. From the first lobster trap to the last, samplers measure each lobster and note the sex, cull status, v-notch condition, egg development stage, molt status and measure any finfish bycatch in the traps. This program helps the state to better understand the resource from a lobsterman’s perspective, seeing what lobstermen see each day.

Sea sampling is a fishery-dependent mode of data collection to track trends within the lobster fishery. Sea sampling data is used to understand geographic, temporal and biological trends in the near shore lobster fishery for individual months, years, and over time. Sea sampling data is disseminated to the lobster industry and is used in stock assessment to help determine the health of the resource.

This program is funded by the Maine Department of Marine Resources