STAMFORD — Some local lobstermen say a lobster die-off is under way in western Long Island Sound, the likes of which they haven't seen since their industry was decimated beginning in the fall of 1999 when 95 percent of the lobsters in the Sound died.
"It is a repeat of 1999," said Darien lobsterman Roger Frate, president of the West End Long Island Sound Lobster Association. "We had these things coming back. We had a nice summer, then the rain started."
The number of lobsters trapped in Long Island Sound has declined by nearly 90 percent since 1998, but local lobstermen saw a slight uptick in numbers last year and said they have been seeing signs of a rebound this summer. Fishermen and state environmental officials aren't sure what is causing lobsters to die off in large numbers now, but many local lobstermen still suspect the use of pesticides to kill mosquitoes are to blame. Others say the hot summer, combined with recent rains and winds, are churning the waters of the Sound causing the bottom to heat up to temperatures lobsters cannot withstand.
Frate said he saw the beginnings of a new die-off three weeks ago while hauling his pots in about 150 feet of water north of Long Island's Eaton's Neck.
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Photo by Kathleen O'Rourke, Stamford Advocate (Stamford, CT)