In April 2006, eighteen fishermen and eleven scientists met for two days in the basement of a Stonington church to discuss the best way to monitor releases of larval lobsters from the Zone C Lobster Hatchery.

Brian Beal of the Downeast Institute, right, speaks at the Collaborative Lobster Enhancement Evaluation Workshop.

The Collaborative Lobster Enhancement Evaluation Workshop, funded by a 2005 Project Development award from the Northeast Consortium, resulted in the recommendation of an experimental design that combines genetic testing and dive surveys during the first two years after release. (see "Measuring Success") After that, the design incorporates tagging (after two years) and juvenile trapping (after four years.) This is the approach now being used to measure the hatchery’s success.

Fishermen and scientists in the hatchery.

The research design that resulted is summarized in the Summary Workshop Results, which can be downloaded here.

A forthcoming report, soon available for download, will include a detailed description of the workshop process and outcomes.