January 11, 2022 — Among the deep underwater valleys off Maine’s craggy, crooked coast crawls one of the must lucrative species in American waters — Homarus americanus, the American lobster.
For almost 20 years, record haul numbers padded the pockets of Maine lobstermen, but with landings declining for five straight years, many wonder how the industry will survive the impacts of climate change.
Last year, Maine’s commercial lobstermen landed $500 million worth, and many of the most successful lobstermen pocket upward of $500,000 each.
Data show the Gulf of Maine is rapidly warming, pushing lobsters farther north and into deeper waters, forcing lobstermen and researchers to grapple over exactly how long the boom times will last and whether they can be prolonged.