A group of Island lobster fishermen plan to attend a meeting later this month in Warwick, R.I. to express their opposition to a proposed ban on lobster fishing in southern New England and beyond.

The fishermen dispute the findings of scientists that the lobster fishery has collapsed, and worry that a moratorium on lobster landings would put them out of business.

“I thought the collapse was in 2004. Now we are seeing larger lobsters. There is recruitment. We’ve got eggers out there. It is coming back,” said Chilmark lobsterman John Larsen at a meeting of the Martha’s Vineyard/ Dukes County Fishermen’s Association last week.

He was echoed by his brother Stephen Larsen, another Menemsha lobstermen. “What do they know? They don’t know what is coming up from the bottom. They should put two and two together and look at what is coming off the bottom,” he said, adding” They are not overfished.”

The moratorium was recommended last month by a technical committee for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, following a review of the lobster population from Cape Cod to Virginia.

Gulf of Maine lobsters are believed to be in good condition; Georges Bank lobsters are in fair condition. But the southern New England fishery has been “critically depleted,” the committee found in its April report.

Warming water temperatures over the last decade are a factor contributing to the decline of the lobster population, and continued fishing is contributing further to the problem, the report found.

It all made for some lively discussion among Island fishermen last week. It was agreed that a group will attend the July 22 meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission American lobster board to comment on the proposed moratorium.

The commission is a regional body made up of fisheries managers from 15 states along the Atlantic seaboard. Among other things, the commission sets quotas and other rules for the fisheries from Maine to Virginia.

Paul McDonald of West Tisbury offered his boat as a means of transportation to the Warwick, R.I., meeting. He said he had found a marina where he could tie up near the hotel where the meeting takes place. He estimated the trip is 35 to 40 miles away by boat.

John Larsen said he was considering driving to the meeting.

Warren Doty, chairman of the association, also said the association will write a letter. A draft will be circulated among the fishermen.

William (Billy) Alwardt of Oak Bluffs, who principally fishes for conch but does lobstering too, warned: “Once you shut down the lobstermen, they’ll come around and shut down the conch fishermen.”

Yesterday, Mr. Doty said he hopes to get the draft letter out by the end of the week.

“The lobster fishery has been at the very center of Menemsha for 100 years and we are not going to walk away from it, because we think it is over. It has a future here and in the waters south of Noman’s Land,” Mr. Doty said. He added:

“We don’t want one size to fit all management for southern New England, from Chatham all the way down to Virginia. We would have some new rules. We would have rules tailored for each zone. We would like specific management measures for our area.”