Here's why:
* Water temperature: Lobsters prefer cold, deep waters. The Chesapeake Bay is generally too warm and shallow for them to survive.
* Salinity: Lobsters need high salinity levels to thrive. The Chesapeake Bay is a brackish water estuary, meaning it has a mix of freshwater and saltwater, and the salinity levels are not consistently high enough for lobsters.
* Habitat: Lobsters prefer rocky bottoms and crevices. The Chesapeake Bay has a mostly muddy bottom, which is not suitable for them.
While you might find some lobsters in the northernmost parts of the Bay where the water is cooler and salinity levels are higher, they are not a common species in the Chesapeake.