ROCKLAND, ME - Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science has been contracted by the Army Corps of Engineers to assess the impact of dredge material disposal on Penobscot Bay lobsters.
    Using trap-based tagging methods, Dr. Rick Wahle of Bigelow Laboratory and his research team will monitor lobster movement near the disposal site before and during the period of disposal. The research team includes Island Institute staff, an acoustic survey geologist from the University of Maine, and a specialist in mark-recapture analysis from the Center for Environmental, Fisheries, and Agricultural Science in Great Britain.
    Beginning in November and continuing into January 2003, the Army Corps of Engineers will be disposing of dredge spoils at the Rockland Disposal Site, about half way between Rockland and Vinalhaven. Silt and clay hauled from Camden and Belfast harbors will be released at the site about 3 miles northeast of the Rockland Breakwater in some 200' of water.
    The location and timing of this project have raised concerns among lobster harvesters.
    Bobby Warren, a Vinalhaven lobsterman who fishes in and around the dumping site, voiced his concern in the local news web site, :
    "It is crazy to think that this is not a concern. This is prime lobster ground for us," Warren said.
    They also fear the disposal may disrupt the seasonal migration of lobster to deeper water.
    To address these concerns, Wahle's team is applying a trap-based mark-recapture method that was developed over the past two summers with support from Maine Sea Grant and in collaboration with the Island Institute and Vinalhaven lobstermen. The researchers will construct acoustic seabed maps before and after disposal to measure the "footprint" of the disposed material.
    Research traps modified to retain even sublegal lobsters were set in a grid pattern over the disposal area. Lobsters collected in the traps from Nov. 1 through December will be tagged, measured, and released.
    The tags will be strapped around both "knuckles" just behind the claw. Each tag bears an identification number and phone number. Recaptured individuals will be recorded within the study area.
    To track movement outside the study area, it is requested that lobstermen who catch a tagged lobster call in the tag number and location of capture.
    To call in a tagged lobster or for more information on the project, call Wahle's lab at (207) 633-9612 or e-mail rwahle@bigelow.org.