The international Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management celebrates its 40th year!

Abstract

[PREFACE] Once again, the International Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management (ICWL) visited the shores of the northwest Atlantic Ocean, some of the most productive lobster grounds on the planet. The University of Maine and Boston University welcomed 257 attendees from 14 countries to Portland, Maine, from June 4 to 9, 2017. Hosted twice earlier in Atlantic Canada, this 11th ICWL was the first time in the US Northeast, and fittingly, in the state nearly synonymous with lobster! The Holiday Inn-by-the-Bay in downtown Portland proved to be the perfect central venue to run our science sessions and socials over the course of the week, and to savor the city’s many restaurants and waterfront activities overlooking Casco Bay. This meeting also marked the ICWL’s 40th anniversary. In 1977, Bruce Phillips (Western Australia Fisheries) and J Stanley Cobb (University of Rhode Island) organized that first event in Perth, Australia, gathering a core group of 35 participants from six countries. Their vision was to assemble scientists, fishery managers, and industry members with common interests in lobsters of all stripes. The first meeting resulted in the landmark two-volume set, The Biology and Management of Lobsters, published in 1980. Its 18 peer-reviewed chapters comprise the first comprehensive review of information on spiny, clawed, and slipper lobsters around the world. It also identified knowledge gaps that spurred new and innovative research on lobster biology and ecology that has informed the management of lobster fisheries in the ensuing years. We stand on the shoulders of these originals who gave us a rich legacy of scientific contributions and mentored a virtual army of students who have made significant contributions in their own right.