Marine scientists from the U.S., Canada and Europe are gathered in Portland this week to look at the challenges facing the American lobster. The Maine Sea Grant program at the University of Maine is hosting the U.S.-Canada symposium, which is focusing on how the Atlantic's changing ecosystem is affecting crustacean life. Speaking with Maine Things Considered host Tom Porter, Robert Steneck from UMaine's School of Marine Sciences says that climate change and other factors have caused lobster numbers to explode in Maine waters, and collapse further to the south.

Robert Steneck (left) is with the University of Maine's School of Marine Sciences, and one of the keynote speakers at this week's international symposium on American lobsters, being held in Portland and organized by the University of Maine's Sea Grant program.

Tom Porter also spoke with University of Connecticut Professor Hans Laufer (top right), who is studying the effect of plastic waste on lobsters, and University of New Brunswick scientist Raouf Kilada (bottom right), who has discovered how to determine a lobster's age by analysing its stomach.

Photos by Tom Porter.