April 20, 2026 — A new University of Maine study found a possible new threat to lobsters.
They’re working to find out if lobsters are being eaten by a predator species called the cunner fish.
Warming Waters in the Gulf of Maine May Affect the Future of Lobsters
April 6, 2026 — Curt Brown spent his childhood harvesting lobsters along the coast of Maine. As an adult, he went on to earn a Master of Science from the University of Maine, observing the very waters where he spent years fishing for the crustaceans.
With a rapidly changing climate, many researchers worry that Maine’s lobsters will eventually move north to colder waters. Brown isn’t so sure, though, seeing all of the forces affecting the ecosystem as highly complex. His studies in marine biology and policy, along with his continued work as a lobsterman, have helped him understand that the lobster industry depends upon various factors, some beyond man’s control.
Last year, the state of Maine’s lobster fisheries harvested 78.8 million pounds of lobsters, and according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), commercial harvesters earned $619 million.
Synonymous with the New England state, lobsters have a documented history in Maine that dates back to 1605. Recent studies, though, show that climate change and a shift in currents are warming up the local waters. In a now well-quoted 2015 study led by Andrew Pershing, researchers found that the surface temperature of the Gulf of Maine is warming 99 percent faster than the rest of the ocean.
Framework finally implemented as Gulf of Maine haddock quota increase takes effect
March 9, 2026 — After weeks of frustration from New England groundfish sector managers and stop-fishing notices for some vessels, Framework 69 has finally been approved and implemented by federal regulators.
According to a March 5 notice from NOAA Fisheries, the agency approved Framework Adjustment 69 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan and announced final catch limits for fishing year 2025. The action officially went into effect March 9.
Framework 69 establishes annual catch limits and management measures for multiple groundfish stocks, including a significant increase to the Gulf of Maine haddock quota– an increase fishermen have been waiting on for months.
The approval comes after mounting pressure from industry leaders who argued the delay was forcing boats to tie up during one of the most productive fishing periods of the year. Just days before NOAA issues its final notice, six New England groundfish sector managers formally petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service for relief, calling the delay in approving the framework “frankly ridiculous.”
At the time, several sectors had already begun issuing stop-fishing notices after vessels exhausted their Gulf of Maine haddock allocations under the interim limits.
NOAA announces planned rollback of North Atlantic right whale protections
March 4, 2026 — The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration has announced plans to roll back protections for North Atlantic right whales as part of the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to deregulate across multiple government sectors.
There are fewer than 380 right whales left in the world, with roughly 70 females capable of bearing young. North Atlantic Right Whales, one of the most endangered species in the world, are frequently spotted by the dozens in the Gulf of Maine.
Vessel strikes and equipment entanglement are the leading causes of death, Rachel Rilee of the Center for Biological Diversity told Maine Public.
Stop-fishing notices spread as haddock delay drags on
March 4, 2026 — It has been almost a week since six New England groundfish sector managers formally petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for relief on Framework 69, and, from the industry’s perspective, nothing has changed.
In a Feb. 27 letter addressed to Michael Pentony, regional administrator for NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, the managers called the delay in approving Framework 69 “frankly ridiculous,” noting that there are only nine weeks (now eight weeks) left in the fishing year and that vessels are already being forced to stop fishing in the Gulf of Maine.
“We the undersigned Northeast groundfish sector managers petition for relief from the frankly ridiculous delay in what should have been a belated but routine approval of groundfish Framework 69,” the letter states.
Framework 69, approved by the New England Fishery Management Council in December 2024 and submitted to NMFS in March 2025, would increase the Gulf of Maine haddock quota by roughly 50 percent over the prior fishing year. But with the action still awaiting final signoff in Washington, D.C., that additional quota remains inaccessible on the water.
In the meantime, sector managers say they are running out of options.
Gulf of Maine haddock quota stalled as boats near tying up
February 23, 2026 — For commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Maine, spring typically means fresh haddock.
It’s the time of year when the fish show up thick, boats can finally make steady trips, and crews start to see paychecks that carry them through the lean months. But this year, instead of chasing the fish, Gulf of Maine (GOM) groundfishermen are waiting and watching their quota meters hit zero.
Framework 69, the regulatory vehicle that would increase the GOM haddock quota by 50 percent due to assessments of the stock, is stuck in federal review at NOAA’s level, despite being approved by the New England Fishery Management Council and signed on Dec. 4, 2024.
In the meantime, boats are nearing the limit of haddock they’re legally allowed to land.
“We were, for instance, four weeks ago, on track at the current quota level to be out of Gulf of Maine haddock quota right around the end of this year,” said Hank Soule, manager of the Sustainable Harvest Sector. New England sectors are self-managed groups of commercial fishing vessels holding limited access permits for Northeast multispecies (groundfish), including haddock.
“Right now, we’re on track to run out of Gulf of Maine haddock quota by late March,” said Soule. For groundfishing, that means a year reset on May 1, which is beyond devastating to fishermen.
MAINE: What warming waters could mean for Maine’s fishing economy
February 10, 2026 — Fishing is a major part of Maine’s economy, with commercial fisheries generating about $709 million in 2024, according to state data. But what happens when a warming climate begins to collide with business?
Scientists consider the Gulf of Maine to be one of the fastest-warming ocean regions in the world — and changing conditions have already reshaped parts of the industry.
In Maine, warming waters have contributed to long-term declines in northern shrimp populations. Shrimp fisheries in the Gulf of Maine have been closed for more than a decade, after regulators imposed a moratorium on shrimping — a ban that has now been extended until 2028.
And it’s not just shrimp.
Graham Sherwood, a senior scientist at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, says warming waters could begin to affect Maine’s billion-dollar lobster industry, even as the fishery remains strong today.
Marketplace’s Sabri Ben-Achour spoke with Sherwood. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
What zooplankton can teach us about a changing Gulf of Maine
February 10, 2026 — Karen Stamieszkin, a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, was out on the Gulf of Maine three years ago when she saw red pooling in different directions beneath the waves: a large spring bloom of plankton.
“You could see these plumes of this fat, rich copepod population right at the surface,” said Stamieszkin, referring to a type of tiny crustacean. “That is what drives the Gulf of Maine’s iconic fisheries.”
She was examining the masses of an organism that plays a central role in the Gulf of Maine’s ecosystem, feeding on plant-like plankton and then transferring that energy up the food chain, thereby fueling the region’s cod, herring, and tuna populations.
Maine Sea Grant receives $2M in new NOAA awards to support innovative American lobster research, outreach
January 21, 2026 — The Maine Sea Grant Program at the University of Maine has received $2 million in funding.
$1.4 million of the funding comes from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), awarded to support research and outreach activities of the NOAA Sea Grant-funded American Lobster Initiative. Another $600,000 has been provided in second-year support for four 2025-26 American lobster research awards.
With this new four-year NOAA award, Maine Sea Grant and its regional partners will support collaborative research to address complex challenges facing the American lobster fishery, according to UMaine News, in a news release. The initiative will also synthesize research findings so they are accessible and actionable for fishermen, policymakers and the public, and support place-based technical assistance within the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and Southern New England region.
The American lobster (Homarus americanus) is among the nation’s most valuable fisheries, with approximately 113 million pounds landed in 2024, valued at $715 million. The industry supports thousands of Maine families across the fishing and seafood supply chain and faces growing uncertainty driven by environmental and market change.
“This underscores the need for collaborative research to understand how lobsters are responding to changing conditions and how best to sustain the fishery,” said UMaine, in the release.
On the Frontlines of Ocean Warming, Maine Plans for What Comes Next
January 16, 2026 — The Gulf of Maine, often referred to as a sea within a sea, extends along the eastern seaboard from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to New Brunswick, Canada. Teeming with a bounty of fish and lobsters, the watershed serves as a recipe for abundance. Nutrients from the warm Gulf Stream, the cool Labrador Current, and counterclockwise coastal currents gush into the bay, stratifying into varying temperate zones. But things have changed.
The Gulf of Maine is warming at a rate faster than nearly any other ocean surface on the planet, leading to shifts in the distribution of marine species and contributing to sea level rise. Think of it like a bathtub with hot and cold taps. As the Labrador Current weakens, accelerated warming has increasingly been impacting marine life and economic activities on Maine’s working waterfront.
According to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s (GMRI) latest report, the watershed experienced its twelfth-warmest year in 2024. Climbing temperatures, though incremental, are poised to have drastic impacts on fisheries and New England communities.
In Hot Water
Maine is combating the effects of global warming in real time and, in doing so, helping researchers better understand the global ocean.
The Gulf of Maine is home to beloved wildlife, from North Atlantic right whales and seabirds to iconic fish stocks and lobsters, all of which are threatened. Warming waters have already affected cold-water species, like herring, which are declining, and warm-water species, like butterfish.
Shifts in the food web have a ripple effect. Puffins are in limbo, forced to change what they feed to their chicks. And invasive species like green crabs have settled in, killing essential eelgrass beds that juvenile crustaceans rely on for protective habitat.
The impact rising tides have on coastal infrastructure are not less noteworthy. In 2020, Maine published its climate action plan, dedicating an entire section to better understand how a warming, rising Gulf will impact marine resources and communities. There’s great emotional value in both sectors, not to mention $528 million in yearly revenue from the state’s lobster industry and $9 billion in tourist revenue.
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