Community Corner

Lobster Fishing in LI Sound Shuts Down Sunday

State, federal agencies impose closure in an effort to replenish lobster population.

In an effort to replenish the lobster population in the Long Island Sound, lobster fishing is set to be shut down in the Sound on Sunday. 

The fishing ban runs through Nov. 28 and applies to both recreational and commercial fisheries and all gears.

State agencies in New York and Connecticut, acting under a plan put in place by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, enacted the measure to close the Sound to lobster fishing. 

"The Commission took this action in response to the low level of abundance and persistent low production of young lobsters seen over the past decade across the entire New England stock complex (southern Massachusetts to Virginia, including offshore waters)," according to a message posted on the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's website. 

Local lobstermen, however, are worried about the closure affecting their livelihood. 

"It's going to impact guys," John German, the president of the Long Island Sound Lobstermen's Association, told Newsday. "It's going to shut us down at a somewhat productive time."


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