For the past 30 years the American lobster population in the Gulf of Maine has grown by an estimated 515%. Several factors have been credited with creating this boom: the state's strict conservation and fishing regulations that limit the acceptable catch size and prevent fishermen from catching egg-bearing females; the overfishing of cod, which are one of the lobster's key predators; along with rising water temperatures, which has decimated the industry in southern New England, but has made the colder waters in the Gulf of Maine even more optimal for juvenile lobsters.