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. For the past twenty-five 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 we look forward to continuing our collaborative research with lobstermen, scientists, and managers within the Gulf of Maine.