May 21, 2026 — Captain Chris Welch of Kennebunk, Maine, is catching fewer lobsters this spring because spiking diesel prices have made it too costly to take out his fishing boat as often as he normally would.
Instead of checking and re-baiting his traps every four or five days to collect the valuable crustaceans, he’s doing so every seven to 10 days to conserve fuel.
“It cuts into your profitability at the end of the day,” Welch said after fueling his vessel, Quality Time, on a rainy day at Kennebunk’s harbor. “We are having to pay much more attention to our bottom line.”