Dr. Robert Steneck explores the shores of the Damariscotta River. He will provide a webinar on climate impacts to the lobster industry on July 10.
Robert Steneck will present “Maine’s changing lobster fishery: some direct and indirect impacts of climate change” at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 10, as a virtual seminar, hosted by the University of Maine Darling Marine Center in Walpole.
“Challenges for this fishery have never been greater,” said Steneck.” Today, the economic impact of COVID-19, international trade problems, concerns about the northern right whale, and bait shortages all weigh heavily on everyone who fishes for lobsters on the Maine coast. A less conspicuous concern relates to the warming Gulf of Maine.”
Steneck’s research over the last three decades has focused on climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems and the communities that depend on them, here in Maine and around the world. In the July 10 seminar, he will focus on one of the most valuable fisheries in the U.S. – the Maine fishery for American lobster.
Steneck is a professor of oceanography, marine biology, and marine policy at UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences and is internationally recognized for his dedication to underwater field expeditions, from the North Atlantic to the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific regions, as well as for mentoring hundreds of students from UMaine and other institutions. This past spring, Steneck was awarded the university’s highest research honor, the Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award, in recognition of his accomplishments.
Steneck’s virtual seminar will kick off the Darling Marine Center’s three-part summer science summer series. Presentations on July 24 and August 7 will provide additional opportunities for participants to learn about current marine science and policy topics in which UMaine researchers and students are actively engaged, in Maine and beyond.
Attendees may register for the seminar online at dmc.umaine.edu.
