The Lobster Institute is concerned about future harvests.

PORTLAND (AP) – For a decade, Maine lobstermen have enjoyed an unprecedented boom. For just as long, scientists have warned that lobster landings are approaching the ceiling and due for a dropoff.

The Lobster Institute hopes to provide some insurance with research into a floating hatchery that protects tiny lobsters from predators until they can be released to the ocean floor by the thousands.

If successful, such hatcheries could bolster lobster stocks if they become depleted by overfishing or disease, said Executive Director Bob Bayer.

Bayer, who along with two other men has begun testing his idea Down East in Gouldsboro, cited the mysterious lobster die-off in Long Island Sound in 1999 as a scenario in which hatcheries could be utilized.

“If this worked, this would be a way to introduce a lot of lobster in an area like that without an outlay of a tremendous amount of money,” said Dana Rice, a harbor master who is assisting on the project.

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association abandoned the idea of seed programs years ago after they were deemed to be ineffective.

Right now, there’s no need for hatcheries in Maine because lobsters are so plentiful on the ocean floor, said Pat White, a York lobsterman and the association’s chief executive officer.

Last year, Maine lobstermen set new records for both the size and value of their catch, hauling in more than 57.2 million pounds of lobster valued at more than $188 million.

But, White added, it’s not a bad idea to have a backup plan in the event of a Long Island-type catastrope. “That kind of insurance, if it’s inexpensive, is probably worthwhile,” he said.

Bayer said his idea is so simple and inexpensive he was surprised no one else tried it in the past.

He’s using a cylindrical contraption designed by University of Maine researcher John Riley that’s made of the same type of wire used in modern lobster traps. It floats on the surface and is lined with a fine mesh that keeps the larvae from escaping, Bayer said.

An egg-bearing lobster is placed inside and the tiny offspring stay there for 10 to 14 days after hatching.

When the lobsters reach a quarter-inch in length – big enough so their claws can be discerned – they are released to settle on the ocean floor where they have a fighting chance of survival.

The period after the lobsters hatch is when they’re most vulnerable. In the wild, the hatchlings floating close to the ocean surface make tempting morsels for any number of ocean predators.

Scientists believe the mortality rate for lobsters is greater than 99 percent, but no one knows for sure, Bayer said.

Once they settle on the ocean floor, the lobsters are still at risk of being eaten by larger fish. But tiny though they may be, they have the ability to crawl and seek shelter from predators.

On Thursday, Bayer, Rice and Vance Blushke expected to see thousands of lobsters when they checked the hatchery in Bunkers Harbor, which is on the Schoodic Peninsula. Instead, the tiny lobsters numbered only in the hundreds.

Rice surmised that the mother ate some of her offspring. In the future, the female lobster will be removed when the larvae emerge, added Bayer, who was prepared to resume the experiment with another egg-bearing lobster.

Bayer was also toying with the idea of a larger scale hatchery project using an abandoned tidal pond in Bunkers Harbor.

. Such a tidal pound could yield millions, instead of thousands, of broodstock.

Rice believes lobster mortality in the experiment would be the same as lobster raised in a mainland hatchery.

The difference is in the expense. The cost of the floating hatchery is minimal compared to a hatchery on land that would require property, a building and tanks at an estimated cost of $40,000 to $50,000, Rice said.

A couple of lobstermen could build their own hatchery with a state permit and an outlay of about $100.

“I don’t think we’re going to hit it exactly right the first time, but I do think it’s a viable plan and I think it’ll work,” Rice said. “And it’s very inexpensive to do.”

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