March 25, 2021 — Maine’s lobster industry weathered the coronavirus pandemic better than expected, with the value of the 2020 landings decreasing only 17 percent from the previous year despite the closure of many of its traditional markets such as restaurants and cruise ships.
The overall haul was valued at almost $406 million, a decrease from 2019’s $491 million but still only the seventh time in the history of the fishery that the landed value exceeded $400 million, according to figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Marine Resources.
Maine fishermen hauled 96.6 million pounds of lobster in 2020, a 5 percent decrease from the 101 million pounds in 2019 and the first time in almost a decade that landings fell below 100 million pounds.
Dustin Delano, a lobsterman in Friendship and a vice president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, attributes the drop to a decrease in effort, not in supply.
“We decreased effort significantly from March to July, from when we heard about the virus,” he said, “We were skeptical, so guys took their time setting their gear out for summer.”