MAINE: Colorful character becomes mascot for impact of climate change
Golden lobster shines light on impact of climate change on ‘blue economy’
A colorful character has become the mascot for a research program studying the impact of climate change on the economically important lobster fisheries of Maine. "Banana," a bright yellow lobster, was caught off the coast of Maine and has found a home at the University of New England in Biddeford.
How did Banana get to be so bright? According to Markus Frederich, a marine scientist at the university, "The coloration of lobsters is caused by several pigment proteins, the main colors being yellow, blue and red. The mixture of these pigments, plus pigments that the lobsters take up through their food, gives the lobster the typical "lobster color." Most likely due to genetic mutations, some of the pigment proteins can be missing leading to a different coloration. In Banana’s case, the yellow color is dominant, overshadowing the blue and red.”
Roughly 1 in 30 million lobsters has the genetic mutation that causes the yellow shell color, and there are many different color varieties, including bright blue, calico (black and orange) and the rarest of all -- white lobsters. The people of Maine have seen them all, as the lobster population and the state are closely intertwined. This is why researchers are studying the impact of warming waters on the lobsters.
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Lobster fishing is a major component of the "blue economy" -- the various economic activities involving the oceans such as shipping, fishing, offshore energy production and marine tourism. In 2018, the blue economy was estimated to have supported 2.3 million jobs in the U.S. and contributed $373 billion to the nation's gross domestic product. Lobster fishing is the most valuable fishery in the country, worth an estimated $674 million in 2019.
Anything that negatively impacts the lobster industry in Maine may have a significant effect on the state’s economy and the coastal communities. Frederich’s lab is sharing an $860,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and Hood College in Maryland to study the impacts that a warming Gulf of Maine is having on lobster larvae and their success growing to adulthood.