A drop in lobster catches due to this season’s extremely cold temperatures could cause the price tag of lobster rolls to rise.
PORTLAND, Maine – Maine lobster industry is facing increasing pressure after a harsh winter, reduced fishing activity, delayed catches and higher costs across the sector.
The state, the largest lobster producer in the U.S., recorded its fourth consecutive annual decline in total catch, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
An important director spent fewer days on the water. Maine lobster harvesters will have made more than 21,000 fewer fishing trips in 2025 than in 2024, the agency said. Total landings fell to just over 78 million pounds, the lowest level since 2008.
“It started in December, and in December you can usually fish a lot of days, but we weren’t able to fish,” said lobsterman Greg Turner.
Turner, who has worked on a boat since he was a child, said crews were only able to fish about half as many days as normal during the peak winter months.
“If it’s zero and it’s minus 25, you can’t go because it would just – if anything happened – it would be done. You would probably die there,” Turner said.
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Colder temperatures also affected lobster behavior, further limiting catches.
“It makes the lobsters slow down and stop crawling faster because when it gets cold they don’t want to eat,” Turner said.
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Winter conditions have worsened existing financial pressure on the sector, including inflation, tariffs and changing market dynamics.
Commissioner Carl Wilson of the Maine Department of Marine Resources wrote that inflation and market uncertainty were testing fishermen’s bottom lines in 2025. He added that a late molt limited access to new shellfish during the summer, prompting some harvesters to reduce the number of trips.
Despite the challenges, Maine’s commercial harvesters generated more than $600 million in 2025, meaning profits exceeded $500 million for the fourteenth year in a row. However, fishermen say higher revenues have not translated into higher profits at the dock.
“Believe me, we’re not getting it, we’re not getting it. But I mean, everything has gone up for us: the price to buy it, to transport it, to cook it, to prepare it, all of that has to go up too. It’s just the world we live in now,” Turner said.
The average boat price remained relatively high at $5.85 per pound, but industry advocates say higher dock prices are needed to support fishermen.
“We want to see a higher price at the dock. That goes directly to your fishermen and keeps them fishing because they are a very, very important part of our community,” said Alexa Dayton, executive director of the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries.
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Dayton is currently conducting a cost survey of hundreds of lobstermen and said early responses highlight how significantly fishing time has dropped this winter.
“Ideally they would like to be absent fifteen days a month. This year it is only five days,” says Dayton.
She also pointed to uneven ocean conditions across the state. Waters in Down East Maine, from Stonington to Machias, have been significantly colder than average, especially on the ocean floor, while parts of the western Gulf of Maine have seen relatively warmer conditions.
“There is such a thing as too cold for them,” Dayton said, referring to the temperature range of lobsters.
Rising input costs are creating even more pressure. Dayton said bait prices have risen dramatically since her last survey in 2010.
“I mean, it’s a 350% increase. It used to be something you didn’t worry about so much. Now, at the end of the day, it’s a real driver, whatever is left in your pocket,” she said.
Financial pressure is spreading beyond the port to coastal economies. Dayton said many communities rely heavily on fishing income.
“But the stress of making money and, again, you see days go by with no income, which hurts both the fishing industry and what’s happening on Main Street,” Dayton said. “I mean, this is, you know, for many of these coastal communities, they’re 80% dependent on fishing, at least that’s what our research shows, and it trickles down to some happens in the supermarket.”
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She added that most Maine lobstermen operate as small, independent businesses rather than corporate entities, making them particularly vulnerable to cost fluctuations and lost fishing days.
“Fishermen run their own businesses here in Maine. These are not business owners. I think that’s what makes us unique and special.”
