Georges Bank

Officials with the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said surveys have detected a 39% decline in young lobsters in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank areas for 2020-22 compared to 2016-18.

Fishers also harvest from Georges Bank, a fishing ground to the east where quotas were also reduced for this year, including adjoining areas overseen by Canadian officials who issued their own major cuts.

The rules, which can vary slightly based on fishing grounds, are intended to maintain a breeding population of the lobsters in key areas such as the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has described the fish as “significantly below target population levels” on Georges Bank, a key fishing ground.

The U.S. and Canada also argued for years over the right to fish around Georges Bank, a rich scallop ground between Nova Scotia and Maine, until the dispute was settled in international court in 1984.