Global warming creating warmer waters off the coast could threaten the future success of Maine's lobster harvest, but the University of Maine is getting a new grant from the Department of Marine Resources to help prevent that from happening.

Thanks to Mainers who have purchased license plates with lobsters on them, the University of Maine received a $127,000 grant from those plates, and now it is studying the effects of climate change on lobsters before it does any more harm to the species.

“Lobster is the icon for the state of Maine. In addition, it's a very important economic force,” said Bob Bayer, the executive director of the Lobster Institute.

There is no question: the lobster industry is important to Maine’s economy. In fact, harvests since 1992 have increased by more than 100,000 pounds.

But what happens when ocean temperature rises?

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