January 14, 2026 — Maine’s lobster fishery brought in more than half a billion dollars in revenue last year, but the long-term health of the fishery remains under pressure as warming waters reshape the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, according to reporting from Northeastern Global News.
As ocean temperatures rise, invasive and southern species are moving into traditional lobster habitat, competing for resources and preying on native lobsters. Understanding how those changes play out on the water may depend heavily on the people who spend the time there: lobstermen themselves.
Jonathan Grabowski, a professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern University, led a study examining lobstermen’s ecological knowledge in Maine and Massachusetts. Through detailed surveys and in-depth interviews, Grabowski and his team documented how fishermen understand food-web relationships and species interactions across different habitats.