The University of Maine's Lobster Institute is helping to create a coalition of scientists and agencies to protect the health of the region's lobster fishery.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is providing $178,421 for the Lobster Health Coalition, according to the Orono-based Lobster Institute. The effort also is being led by the Lobster Institute and the Maine Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory at UMaine.

It will include scientists and industry representatives from the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada and will collect baseline lobster health data and encourage coordinated research.

"We must be proactive in sustaining both the lobster resource and the lobster industry, which employs thousands of citizens, many in economically depressed areas," Robert Bayer, executive director of the Lobster Institute, said in a written statement.

The commercial lobster fishery has an estimated annual national economic impact of $700 million- $1.2 billion. It supports thousands of Maine families, including those of the 5,800 men and women who hold commercial lobster licenses. Maine's 2007 lobster landings totaled approximately 56 million pounds, valued at approximately $248,000,000.