DARIEN, Conn. -- Fairfield County's lobster industry has been decimated in the past 15 years, but a new bill signed into law by Gov. Dannel Malloy last Friday is giving the few remaining lobster fishermen hope of reviving the population of the marine crustacean in Long Island Sound.

Several of the state's estimated 15 to 20 remaining lobstermen gathered at Darien Seafood Market on Monday afternoon with state legislators, including state Sens. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk, Darien) and Carlo Leone (D-Stamford, Darien) as well as state Rep. John Shaban (R-Redding-Weston-Easton), to kick off what they hope is the start of a rebirth of lobster-fishing by banning use of two pesticides near the coast of Connecticut.

After years of speculation, there is now enough empirical evidence to suggest that the pesticides methropene and resmethrin, aimed at killing mosquitoes, killed off huge numbers of lobsters after it regularly washed into the Sound through sewer drains.

"The fisheries of Long Island Sound have been devastated by this lobster die-off, which has been terrible for our local economy and all the families that relied on this industry," Duff said in a statement. "We should be doing everything we can to reverse the trend and bring the lobster population back to a healthy level. I am confident that spraying fewer pesticides in coastal areas will help accomplish that."

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