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Lobster and Fishes of Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound’s species are trending towards animals that prefer warm water.

Lobster, which thrive in cold water, have become less common in Connecticut waters. Lobster landings in the state have declined dramatically from a high of over 3.7 million pounds in 1998 to a low of approximately 111,000 pounds in both 2018 and 2019. In 2021 (most recent data available), lobster landings reached approximately 149,000 pounds, a decrease of approximately seven percent from 2020 levels and an approximately eleven percent decrease from the previous ten-year average.⁴³

Researchers have investigated several possible causes for the dramatic downturn in lobster populations since 1998 including disease, changes in water quality, changes in climatic conditions and other human impacts to Long Island Sound, such as the presence of pesticides. The increase in water temperature may not negatively affect the availability of thermally suitable habitat; however, warmer temperature has been linked to the increased prevalence of epizootic shell disease, caused by bacteria.⁴⁴ 

The impacts of warmer water temperatures have had mixed effects on species found in Connecticut waters. As depicted above, the trend indicates that the mean number of warm-adapted species has increased while the mean number of cold-adapted species has declined since 1985.** Overall, finfish diversity in Long Island Sound remains high, indicating that the Sound is healthy.

_{Technical Note: *Data from 2010 and 2020 are missing for the marine species chart because no fall and/or spring surveys were conducted those years. **Finfish species captured in the Connecticut DEEP Long Island Sound Trawl Survey were divided into adaptation groups based on their temperature tolerance and seasonal spawning habits.}

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⁴³  _{NOAA, Annual commercial landing statistics, 1970-2021, accessed March 14, 2023; www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/sustainable-fisheries/commercial-fisheries-landings.} 
⁴⁴  _{Kisei R. Tanaka, Michael P. Torre et al., An ensemble high-resolution projection of changes in the future habitat of American lobster and sea scallop in the Northeast US continental shelf; April 27, 2020; doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13069.}
⁴⁵ _{DEEP, Division of Marine Fisheries; personal communication from K. Gottschall March 16, 2023.}