GAINESVILLE, FL-- According to a researcher from the University of Florida, a virus is endangering the Caribbean Spiny Lobster, which is one of the state's top commercial seafood species.
According to UF, the National Science Foundation has awarded scientists at Florida and several other institutions a grant of more than a million dollars to determine the origin of the virus, and how it is transmitted.
"That's one of the 80 million dollar questions is where it initially came from. We know that it can be spread between lobsters. They can eat infected tissue and contract it that way. They can contract it through contact with other lobsters," said Don Behringer, a UF researcher, in a written release.
The University of Florida says the spiny lobster normally provides an annual harvest of about 27-million dollars. Since the discovery of the virus, fisheries have seen a 30 percent decrease of lobster, the school said.
Information for this article provided by the University of Florida
