June 15, 2021 โ Ask any outsider what Maine brings to mind, and the response might well be: Bone-chilling winters. Forests. Moose. Quaint fishing villages along a rocky coast. Flannel shirts and Bean boots. And lobstersโlots of lobsters.
These cold-water-loving, bottom-feeding crustaceans are top of mind for many Mainers too, including Monique Coombs. Sheโs the director of community programs for the Maine Coast Fishermanโs Association, in Brunswick. Sheโs also the wife of Maine lobsterman, Herman Coombs, and the mother of 16-year-old Joceylne, whoโs going into the family trade. Homarus americanusโthe American lobsterโis what keeps bread on the Coombsโ table.
Last year during the pandemic shutdown, Maine didnโt get its usual blast of summer visitors, but there were plenty of lobsters. Signs are promising for a revived tourism season in 2021, and Monique expects it to be another good year for lobsters.
But that doesnโt stop her from worrying. The waters off Maineโs coast are warming, and no one knows what thatโs going to mean for the stateโs half-billion-dollar-a-year lobster industryโthe largest single-species fishery in North America. Some fear that continued warming could cause the lobster population to collapse.