Preface.

In the fall of 1999, American lobsters in western Long Island Sound (LIS) began dying at an alarming rate due to undetermined causes. By late 1999, the Governors of Connecticut and New York had requested disaster assistance from (then) U.S. Secretary of Commerce, William M. Daley, who declared the LIS lobster fishery a "commercial fishery failure due to a resource disaster" in early 2000. Within six months, $13.9 million of Federal disaster relief funds were authorized to provide economic assistance to the commercial lobstermen and to support a comprehensive research initiative investigating the lobster mortality event.

Individuals from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), Connecticut Sea Grant (CTSG), New York Sea Grant (NYSG), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP), University of Connecticut, Stony Brook University, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the local lobster industry organized and sponsored the first LIS lobster health symposium in April 2000. During this symposium, need statements were developed to guide the research initiative. These individuals also recommended that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) formalize an oversight committee.

The ASMFC established an ad hoc Steering Committee for Lobster Disease Research in August 2000. Members, appointed by the Chair of the ASMFC Lobster Management Board, were Emory Anderson (NOAA National Sea Grant College Program), Ernest Beckwith and Eric Smith (2003) (CTDEP), Anthony Calabrese and Harry Mears (NOAA Fisheries), Gordon Colvin (NYSDEC), Lisa Kline and Carrie Selberg (2004) (ASMFC), Jack Mattice (NYSG), Edward Monahan (CTSG), Mark Tedesco (EPA), and lobster industry representatives, Nick Crismale and Joseph Finke. The Committee was charged to provide oversight and accountability for the expenditure of federal funds appropriated for research. The State of Connecticut and the EPA also contributed funds to support the research effort, with Ron Rozsa, CTDEP, collaborating on behalf of Connecticut.

The LIS Lobster Research Initiative (2001-2004) was a regional collaboration between NOAA Fisheries, NOAA Sea Grant, CTDEP, NYSDEC, CTSG, NYSG, and EPA. The Initiative was complemented by the CTDEP and NYSDEC Monitoring and Resource Assessment Programs, and the joint CTSG and NYSG lobster outreach program.

Between 2001 and 2004, three additional public LIS lobster health symposia brought together all interested parties to present and discuss the results of ongoing research, monitoring, and modeling activities funded under this initiative. The researchers were also brought together twice to update the Steering Committee on their progress and to interact in cross-project collaborations. Twenty-four papers resulting from the Research Initiative are presented herein; additional papers are published elsewhere.

The Steering Committee thanks all of the authors who submitted manuscripts for publication in this special issue of the Journal of Shellfish Research, as well as the numerous referees who volunteered their time to review the papers. The Committee also thanks the National Shellfisheries Association for accepting this compendium of papers as a contribution to a special issue in its scientific journal series. Funding for this publication was provided by the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Connecticut Sea Grant College Program, New York Sea Grant Institute, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Anthony Calabrese

NMFS Retired

Nancy Balcom

Connecticut Sea Grant

Antoinette Clemetson

New York Sea Grant