The ABC News reported on August 11, 2013, that a lobster shell disease that has affected the southern New England lobster industry for years by making the lobsters ugly and unfit for marketing is stealthily creeping towards the lobster-rich grounds off the coast of Maine.
Last year only three out of every 1,000 lobsters sampled were found to have been inflicted with the shell disease. However, the scientists and lobstermen reported they have recorded a five fold growth in the disease affected lobsters from 2010 to 2012.
Reportedly, this disease doesn’t affect humans. It was discovered first in southern New England waters during the 1990s.
Quoting the words of Carl Wilson, the state lobster biologist who works with the Department of Marine Resources, the ABC News mentioned "Oh, my god, that's a huge increase". He added that this incident should not alarm people but just make them concerned.
The samples are taken for records as the Lobster ranks among the most important fisheries in Maine and New England.
Tracy Pugh, a fisheries biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, said that, "It's certainly something to keep an eye on. But in terms of our perspective of Gulf of Maine shell disease, we don't see it as something to get particularly concerned about," she said. "The rates are pretty low. We don't see a pattern."
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