Lobster Shell Disease Creates Lesions on Crustaceans

These days, lobster shell disease seems to be lurking around Maine fishing grounds, according to three out of every thousand sampled lobsters by scientists in the area. The New Haven Register discovered this problem on Aug. 12 according to the Huffington post, and are particularly concerned as the disease has increased by five-fold between 2010 and 2012.

Though the disease is not harmful to humans, it could affect the New England waters when it was first discovered back in the 1990s.

According to various reports, the disease creates crustaceans that can adversely affect salability in one to three lobsters that were caught in other parts of New England. Public concern was warranted and created problems for researchers to watch closely.

Although diseased lobsters can be eaten safely, they can't be shown in the live market and could cause the industry up to $400 million in the United States. Lesions left behind on the animals would make them undesirable for purchase.

In fact, the shell disease may actually be attributed to such factors as pollution or even global warming and rising sea temperatures. It's also known as a Epizootic shell disease that can cause bacterial infection and leave behind lesions on the creatures shells that could prevent them from walking. 

However, Tracy Pugh, a fisheries biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, isn't too concerned about the problem as she believes the Gulf of Maine will be too cold for the lobsters. 

"It's certainly something to keep an eye on. But in terms of our perspective of Gulf of Maine shell disease, we don't see it as something to get particularly concerned about," she said, via the Christian Science Monitor. "The rates are pretty low. We don't see a pattern."