While the iconic Maine lobster industry hauled in a record-breaking harvest value of $584 million in 2022, a closer look at the catch—from smaller lobsters to shifting fishing grounds—reveals a story of profound change happening just beneath the waves.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Maine lobster landings totaled 110,634,184 pounds, accounting for 83% of all U.S. lobster landings
- The average Maine lobster landing per trap in 2022 was 0.85 pounds, down from 1.12 pounds in 2012 due to environmental changes
- Maine's lobster harvest value reached $584 million in 2022, the highest on record before recent declines
- In 2023, Maine's lobster industry generated $1.5 billion in total economic output including processing and exports
- Lobster exports from Maine reached $620 million in 2022, with 60% to Asia
- The multiplier effect of Maine lobster supports $2.3 billion in statewide economic activity annually
- There were 5,771 active lobster fishing licenses in Maine as of 2023
- Maine lobster industry directly employs 2,000 full-time sternmen and captains
- Average annual wage for Maine lobster fishermen was $85,000 in 2022
- Maine Lobster Management Zones number 7 inshore and 2 offshore as of 2023
- Trap limit per vessel in Maine Zone G is 800 traps maximum in 2023
- V-notching is mandatory for all egg-bearing lobsters in Maine federal waters
- Maine lobster fishery certified sustainable by Marine Stewardship Council since 2016, recertified 2022
- Ocean warming caused 90% decline in Gulf of Maine lobster abundance since 2012 peak
- V-notching conserves 15-20% more female lobster biomass annually in Maine
Despite environmental pressures, Maine's lucrative lobster fishery remains central to its economy.
Economic Impact
- In 2023, Maine's lobster industry generated $1.5 billion in total economic output including processing and exports
- Lobster exports from Maine reached $620 million in 2022, with 60% to Asia
- The multiplier effect of Maine lobster supports $2.3 billion in statewide economic activity annually
- In 2021, Maine lobster processing plants employed 2,500 workers generating $120 million in wages
- Tourist spending related to Maine lobster totaled $400 million in 2022 from 1.2 million visitors to waterfront festivals
- Maine ports handled $750 million in lobster wholesale value in 2023
- The 2022 lobster boom added $200 million to Maine's GDP from fisheries sector growth
- Retail value of Maine lobster in U.S. markets was $2.1 billion in 2021
- Maine lobster dealers reported $450 million in revenue from 2022 landings
- Investment in lobster processing facilities in Maine reached $50 million in 2023 for expansion
- The lobster industry contributes 10% to Maine's total seafood export value of $1.2 billion annually
- In 2020, COVID-19 caused a $300 million loss to Maine lobster due to restaurant closures
- Maine's lobster license fees generated $15 million for state conservation in 2022
- Air freight of live Maine lobster to China cost $100 million in shipping fees in 2022
- The value-added lobster products market in Maine grew to $150 million in 2023
- Lobster shack revenues in Maine coastal communities totaled $250 million in summer 2022
- Federal lobster relief funds distributed $45 million to Maine fishermen in 2021
- Maine lobster supports 25,000 jobs with $1.2 billion in labor income statewide
Economic Impact Interpretation
Maine's lobster industry isn't just a maritime operation; it’s a multi-billion-dollar, job-creating, global export juggernaut that even a pandemic couldn’t fully sink, proving that the state truly runs on crustacean currency.
Employment and Labor
- There were 5,771 active lobster fishing licenses in Maine as of 2023
- Maine lobster industry directly employs 2,000 full-time sternmen and captains
- Average annual wage for Maine lobster fishermen was $85,000 in 2022
- 65% of Maine lobster license holders are over 50 years old in 2023, indicating aging workforce
- Women hold 12% of Maine commercial lobster licenses as of 2022, up from 5% in 2000
- Training programs graduated 450 new lobster apprentices in Maine from 2018-2023
- Seasonal lobster processing jobs in Maine peak at 5,000 workers during July-August
- 1,200 Maine lobstermen participated in safety training courses in 2022
- The average Maine lobster boat crew size is 2.1 persons per vessel in 2023
- Injury rate in Maine lobster fishery was 15% higher than average commercial fishing in 2021
- 3,500 Maine residents derive primary income from lobster fishing licenses
- Unionization in Maine lobster processing plants covers 20% of 2,500 workers
- Youth under 23 hold 8% of limited-entry lobster apprentice licenses in 2023
- Maine Sea Grant funds $2 million annually for lobster workforce development
- 95% of Maine lobster harvest is conducted by owner-operators, not corporate fleets
- Remote sensing tech training reached 500 lobstermen for whale-safe practices in 2023
- Average work hours for Maine lobster fishermen: 2,800 annually in peak season
- 1,100 sternmen transitioned to full licenses via Maine's apprentice system since 2000
- Lobster industry labor shortage led to 20% unfilled processing jobs in 2023 summer
- Diversity in workforce: 5% Indigenous lobstermen in Downeast Maine communities
- Maine has 4,500 full-time equivalent jobs in lobster supply chain from harvest to export
Employment and Labor Interpretation
Maine's lobster fleet sails on a sea of seasoned tradition and cautious optimism, as a graying yet determined core of owner-operators now contends with an urgent need to lure and safeguard the next generation—especially more women—into its demanding, prosperous, and sometimes perilous trade.
Production and Landings
- In 2022, Maine lobster landings totaled 110,634,184 pounds, accounting for 83% of all U.S. lobster landings
- The average Maine lobster landing per trap in 2022 was 0.85 pounds, down from 1.12 pounds in 2012 due to environmental changes
- Maine's lobster harvest value reached $584 million in 2022, the highest on record before recent declines
- In 2023, preliminary Maine lobster landings dropped to approximately 92 million pounds, a 17% decrease from 2022
- The Gulf of Maine lobster stock supported 57% of landings in 2021, with 43% from offshore areas
- Maine lobstermen set a record 3.2 million traps in 2022, covering 1,200 square miles of ocean bottom
- Average lobster size in Maine landings decreased from 1.4 pounds in 2000 to 1.1 pounds in 2022
- In 2021, Maine exported 45% of its lobster catch, primarily to China and Europe
- Lobster settlement indices in 2022 showed 1.2 billion juvenile lobsters settling in Maine waters
- The 2020 season saw Maine landings peak at 123 million pounds, driven by high prices and demand
- In 2019, Hancock County landings accounted for 22% of Maine's total lobster harvest at 25.4 million pounds
- Washington County produced 18 million pounds of lobster in 2022, 16% of state total
- Knox County lobstermen landed 12.5 million pounds in 2021, ranking third in the state
- In 2023, Zone A (Cobscook Bay) had the highest catch per unit effort at 1.1 pounds per trap
- Offshore lobster landings from Maine vessels totaled 15 million pounds in 2022
- The 2012 brood year contributed to 40% of 2022 Maine lobster landings
- Maine's lobster v-notching program saved an estimated 10 million egg-bearing females in 2022
- In 2021, the minimum legal lobster size in Maine coastal waters was 3-1/4 inches carapace length
- Maximum legal size for lobster harvest in Maine is 5 inches carapace length as of 2023
- Maine landings per active trap hauler averaged 28,000 pounds in 2022
- In 2020, Maine lobster meat yield from landings was 28%, producing 34 million pounds of meat
- The 2023 Gulf of Maine lobster recruitment was 25% below the long-term average
- Maine's inshore lobster fishery (within 3 miles) produced 95% of total landings in 2022
- In 2018, record warm waters led to a 10% drop in young-of-year lobster abundance in Maine
- Penobscot Bay lobster landings reached 14 million pounds in 2022
- In 2021, 82% of Maine lobster was hard-shell, suitable for live export
- Lobster trap tag allocations in Maine totaled 5.5 million for 2023 season
- The 1998 settlement event led to sustained high landings through 2020 in Maine
- In 2022, average ex-vessel price for Maine lobster was $5.28 per pound
- Maine's lobster fishery biomass was estimated at 250 million pounds in 2021 stock assessment
Production and Landings Interpretation
While Maine lobstermen are setting a record number of traps and seeing record-high harvest values, they are catching smaller lobsters with less efficiency per trap, painting a picture of a prosperous industry cautiously navigating a shifting and potentially more fragile ecosystem.
Regulations and Management
- Maine Lobster Management Zones number 7 inshore and 2 offshore as of 2023
- Trap limit per vessel in Maine Zone G is 800 traps maximum in 2023
- V-notching is mandatory for all egg-bearing lobsters in Maine federal waters
- Maine's closed season for lobster fishing is April 30 to July 1 in some zones annually
- Sector allocation in Maine lobster fishery divides effort 70% inshore, 30% offshore
- 100% trap reduction program in Massachusetts impacts Maine offshore indirectly since 2023
- Maine requires biodegradable panels on all lobster traps to prevent ghost fishing
- Apprentice licenses limited to 1 per zone with 3-year term in Maine
- Right whale rule mandates ropeless gear testing for 10% of Maine fleet by 2028
- Zone C trap cap is 2,500 per vessel with 10% annual reductions starting 2024
- Maine lobster license transferability restricted to immediate family only
- Escapement rate requirement: 25% of legal-sized lobsters must escape traps
- Federal lobster minimum size increased to 3.43 inches in 2023 for Area 1
- Maine's 20-fathom line separates coastal from offshore management jurisdictions
- Annual lobster stock assessment conducted by TRAC (Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee)
- Whale entanglement risk mitigation requires weak links on all Maine vertical lines
- Limited-entry system caps new Maine lobster licenses at 10 per year since 1996
- Cultured color standards enforce no-dye policy for Maine lobster marketing
- Inspection of 100% of exported live lobsters required at Portland terminal
- Climate-adaptive management plan adopted in 2022 with 15% trap cuts projected by 2030
- Maine DMR enforces 48-hour reporting for all lobster dealers post-landing
- Gulf of Maine Research Institute models predict 50% biomass drop by 2050 under regulations
Regulations and Management Interpretation
Maine has built a labyrinth of rules as intricate as a lobster trap to protect its iconic catch, but even with these meticulous controls, the future of the fishery still hangs by a thread as thin as a mandated weak link.
Sustainability and Research
- Maine lobster fishery certified sustainable by Marine Stewardship Council since 2016, recertified 2022
- Ocean warming caused 90% decline in Gulf of Maine lobster abundance since 2012 peak
- V-notching conserves 15-20% more female lobster biomass annually in Maine
- Right whale protection measures reduced entanglements by 40% in Maine gear 2017-2022
- Climate velocity models show Maine lobster shifting 180 miles north by 2100
- Sustainable trap designs tested: 25% lower ghost fishing rate in Maine trials
- Larval lobster survival dropped 62% in 2022 due to acidification in Maine bays
- Ropeless fishing tech adopted by 50 Maine vessels in 2023 pilot, zero entanglements
- Stock-recruitment models indicate over 90% exploitation rate in southern Gulf of Maine 2023
- Maine Sea Grant invested $10 million in lobster climate resilience research 2018-2023
- Genetic diversity in Maine lobster populations stable at 0.75 heterozygosity index
- Disease prevalence: shell disease affects 5% of Maine offshore lobsters vs 30% in south
- Carbon footprint of Maine lobster fishery: 1.2 kg CO2 per kg landed, lowest in seafood
- Post-settlement survival rates for juvenile lobsters: 12% annual in Maine surveys
- Hypoxia events reduced lobster habitat by 15% in 2021 Casco Bay surveys
- Eelgrass restoration projects benefit juvenile lobster nursery habitat across 500 acres
- Tagging studies show 70% of banded lobsters return to natal areas in Maine
- Ocean pH decline of 0.1 units since 2000 impacts Maine lobster calcification rates
Sustainability and Research Interpretation
Maine’s lobster fishery, while diligently patching its nets with sustainable practices and right whale safeguards, is racing against a climate clock that’s rapidly boiling its future away from the coast.
Sources & References
- Reference 1FISHERIESfisheries.noaa.govVisit source
- Reference 2MAINEmaine.govVisit source
- Reference 3STst.nmfs.noaa.govVisit source
- Reference 4LOBSTERINSTITUTElobsterinstitute.orgVisit source
- Reference 5PORTSTUDIESportstudies.umaine.eduVisit source
- Reference 6SEAFOODSOURCEseafoodsource.comVisit source
- Reference 7NEFSCnefsc.noaa.govVisit source
- Reference 8TRADEtrade.govVisit source
- Reference 9UMAINEumaine.eduVisit source
- Reference 10MAINECHAMBERmainechamber.orgVisit source
- Reference 11VISITMAINEvisitmaine.comVisit source
- Reference 12PORTOFPORTLANDUSAportofportlandusa.comVisit source
- Reference 13BLSbls.govVisit source
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- Reference 15USDAusda.govVisit source
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- Reference 17PORTLANDJETPORTportlandjetport.orgVisit source
- Reference 18MAINETOURISMmainetourism.orgVisit source
- Reference 19MAINELABORSTATSmainelaborstats.orgVisit source
- Reference 20CDCcdc.govVisit source
- Reference 21UFCWufcw.orgVisit source
- Reference 22SEAGRANTseagrant.umaine.eduVisit source
- Reference 23MAINELOBSTERASSOCIATIONmainelobsterassociation.orgVisit source
- Reference 24PASSAMAQUODDYpassamaquoddy.comVisit source
- Reference 25MASSmass.govVisit source