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ACVP Factsheet

Lobster Disease Factsheet

Paramoebiasis
Lobster paramoebiasis is an infection of the internal tissues of lobster, including those of the nervous system, by an amoeba. The paramoeba enters the lobster by one or more routes that have yet to be determined and then infect the organs of the lobster, most notably the nervous system. The result has been limp and dead lobsters. This condition has been implicated as one of the factors in the massive die-off of lobsters in 1999. It is not to be confused with “limp lobster syndrome,” which is a bacterial disease of impoundment lobsters.

Epizootic/Shell Disease
Unlike the paramoeba-infected lobsters, epizootic/shell disease, is quite noticeable from the outside of the animal. In this case, a bacterial infection colonizes and eats through the lobster’s carapace (exoskeleton, or outer shell). Shell disease has been around for a while, but it appears to have greatly increased in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island recently. Reports show that eastern Long Island Sound landings are down as much as 50 percent because of this affliction, and there is an additional economic loss to the live animal market. Research has shown that certain species of bacteria may be responsible for the lesions of epizootic/shell disease, which can be complicated by amoebae as well.

Cause and Transmission
The exact causes and/or method of transmission is unknown. Recent research points to environmental stressors as the possible cause of the weakening of the lobsters’ immune systems, resulting in disease and deaths, and have contributed to significantly reduced landings and quality of catches. Many people believe that the lobster and crab illnesses and deaths imply that something is wrong with the health of the East Coast estuary itself.

Industry Impact
These diseases, which have increased in incidence and/or geographic range over the last six years, have been associated with catastrophic economic losses to the lobster industry. The mysterious die-off of millions of lobsters has crippled New York’s $100 million industry and affected thousands of lobstermen and their families, including morethan 1,300 from the much-harvested Long Island Sound area. The Connecticut Lobstermen’s Association estimates their continuing loss to be about $16 million per year.

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