BANGOR (AP) - Maine fishery officials are commending new regulations that will give large lobsters along most of the East Coast similar protections as those in Maine.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved new rules this month that include a maximum size limit for lobsters caught from Canada to North Carolina. The regulations aim to rebuild lobster stocks in southern New England, where the harvest fell by half between 1999 and 2003.

Until now, Maine has been the only state with a maximum size limit for lobsters. Scientists say that one 5-pound female lobster can produce 14 times as many eggs as a 1-pounder.

"It's great news," said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen's Association. "This is a huge step in the right direction."

Maine, where 80 percent of the nation's lobster catch is harvested, has a variety of regulations aimed to sustain the lobster population. One rule prohibits fishermen from keeping lobsters whose torsos are more than 5 inches long.

But until now there hasn't been a maximum size limit for fishermen in other states and those who fish in federal waters.

Under the commission's new rule, lobstermen will be required to throw back any lobster more than 5¼ inches in length in state waters between Nantucket Island and Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Offshore, in waters 3 to 200 miles out, the maximum limit will start at 7 inches but will be reduced each year for two years, ending up at 6¾ inches.

The new limits are scheduled to go into effect June 30, 2008. Only a relatively small area due east of Cape Cod will have no maximum limit.

Robert Bayer, executive director of the University of Maine's Lobster institute, said the new regulations should have been passed years ago and should make a big difference for the lobster resource with only a small impact on the industry.

"There aren't that many (large lobsters) out there," Bayer said. "You occasionally catch a big one, (and) the market is not great. Sometimes it's hard to get rid of them."

George Lapointe, commissioner of Maine's Department of Marine Resources who also serves on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, said he'd like to see the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia adopt maximum size limits as well.

"We have had the very same kind of conversations with them" Lapointe said. "Obviously, were not there yet."

AP-ES-05-23-07 1415EDT