November 10, 2025 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) announced last week that while the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank (GOM/ GBK) lobster stock remains above its abundance threshold, overfishing is occurring, a finding that has sparked concern and disagreement from industry groups who say the assessment overstates fishing’s role in the stock’s recent decline.
The 2025 American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment was released on Oct. 20 and stated that the GOM and GBK stock has declined by 34 percent since its peak in 2018, though it is “not depleted” and continues to support a robust fishery. In contrast, the Southern New England stock remains “significantly depleted” but is not experiencing overfishing, with abundance at record lows across all life stages.
“The Benchmark Stock Assessment is a considerable advancement in our understanding U.S. American lobster resource. It was fully endorsed by an external panel of fishery scientists as the best scientific information available to manage the lobster resource,” stated Board Chair Renee Zobel from New Hampshire. “On behalf of the American Lobster Board, I commend the members of the Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee for their outstanding work on the 2025 Benchmark Stock Assessment Report. This assessment reflects the commitment of the Committee and Peer Review Panel to providing the Board with the highest-caliber science to inform management decisions and improve our understanding of the complex and changing relationship between the environment and lobster resource.”