March 26, 2021 — Despite unprecedented market losses, Maine fishermen brought in over a half-billion dollars for their catch in 2020.
Valued at $516.8 million, the ex-vessel value, or price paid at the dock, of Maine’s commercially harvested marine species was the ninth-highest on record.
Maine’s lobster fishery once again accounted for most of the state’s overall landed value, with the lobster catch totaling $405.98 million.
While the landed value was down from $491.2 million in 2019 and the 2016 peak of $540.7 million, it was the seventh straight year that the lobster fishery exceeded $400 million.
“Maine’s lobster industry faced tremendous uncertainty in 2020,” Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher said in a news release. “At this time last year, the industry was facing a pending market collapse due to COVID-19, but industry’s response was remarkable.