Malin Pinsky
Marine ecologist Malin Pinsky, assistant professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, published a recent commentary on how fishery management can help species cope with warming temperatures in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In “Throwing back the big ones saves a fishery from hot water,” Pinsky explains why a recent paper by Arnault Le Bris on the Maine lobster fishery provides important insight into efforts to create climate-ready fisheries management.
The commentary highlights how practices like throwing back large and female lobsters in Maine have allowed the fishery to flourish as temperatures have warmed. While “conserving large individuals isn’t yet common in fisheries management, more widespread use of the management approach could be an important climate adaptation strategy,” helping the fishery into the future, explained Pinsky.
A lack of those conservation measures have contributed to a large drop in the fishery in southern New England, although there is “overall good news for lobster and the way it has been managed in Maine,” he added.
