Cyclic and Geographic Trends in Seawater Temperature and Abundance of American Lobster

Abstract

In Maine, fluctuations in the abundance of American lobster (Homarus americanus) and in seawater temperature have correlated well during the years since the first temperature measurements were made in 1905. Recent record catches in chronological sequence from the northern limit of range in Newfoundland to New York, while temperatures measured in Maine declined from higher to lower than optimum, suggest that at the present rate optimum conditions should reach the southern limit of the lobster's range by the mid-1970's.