March 26, 2026 — Maine’s lobster industry is facing mounting pressure after a harsh winter reduced fishing activity, slowed catches and added to rising costs across the sector.
A key driver was fewer days on the water. Maine lobster harvesters took 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 usually get to fish a lot of days, and we didn’t get to fish,” said lobsterman Greg Turner.
Turner, who has worked on a boat since childhood, said crews were only able to fish about half as many days as normal during peak winter months.
“If it’s zero out, and it’s blowing negative 25, you can’t go because it’s just – if something happened – you’d be done. You’d die out there, probably,” said Turner.