The abundance of lobsters in our coastal waters helped establish Long Island and the entire Northeast as an economic powerhouse years ago.

The lobster population in Long Island Sound has declined precipitously.But populations of the prized crustacean have declined so drastically over the last decade alone, that officials have decided to temporarily close off the Long Island Sound next year to lobster fishing -- for the first time in its history.

The American Lobster Management Board has issued similar closures to other stretches of coastline from the southern tip of New Jersey to Montauk Point. The bans will last several months in 2013, but may be implemented on a more permanent basis if lobster numbers do not recover quickly enough.

Ironically, overharvesting has not been a cause of the decline. Warmer waters and polluted storm-runoff are principally to blame -- and those are issues which a short-term moratorium on lobster fishing would not address. Newsday notes that lobstermen are decrying the ban as unfair, and even some environmental groups have echoed that sentiment in their support.

In order to ensure lobster-fishing has a future in our coastal waters, more must be done to guard what goes in them.