ELLSWORTH (AP) – Recent inspections of lobster shipments crossing into the United States from Canada resulted in fewer violations than a similar crackdown last year, officials said Wednesday.

The results suggest that Canadian dealers are getting the message about conservation, said Ross Lane of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In the past two years, U.S. authorities have stepped up inspections in an effort to cut down on the number of undersized and egg-bearing lobsters imported into Maine.

But some Canadian dealers have complained the extra inspections were causing unnecessary delays.

U.S. inspectors checked about 60 percent of the shipments at the border crossing between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, and Calais between Dec. 3 and Dec. 10.

While more than half of the shipments checked contained lobsters that were not up to American conservation standards, Lane said both the number of illegal lobsters and the fines handed out were down compared to last year.

The largest number of illegal lobsters found in a single Canadian shipment this year was 23, while in December 2005 inspectors found a shipment containing almost 200.

Denny Morrow of the Nova Scotia Fish Packers Association has said the border delays were a “huge problem” since they could lead to missed flights for international lobster shipments.

Concerns have also been raised about having live lobsters delayed in traffic for hours on end.

Morrow could not be reached for comment Wednesday.