Lobster Logic

There’s an old joke that if you get two lobstermen in a room, you’ll hear three different opinions. With that in mind, it isn’t surprising to hear industry experts disagree on whether the state’s lobster catch is growing or declining. The uncertainty highlights the need for more research on the crustacean that accounts for 70 percent of Maine’s fish-based economy.

For years, fishermen have been warned that Maine’s lobster stocks are on the verge of collapse. While lobster landings have fluctuated in recent years, there has been no precipitous drop and, with higher lobster prices this year, the value of the state’s lobster catch is not likely to decline either.

The amount of lobster caught in Maine this year is expected to be lower than last year, according to the Department of Marine Resources. Last year, lobstermen caught 70 million pounds of lobster worth $285 million, both records by DMR tallies.

The volume of lobster caught this year is expected to be lower partly because cold water lingered in the Gulf of Maine delaying molting. After lobsters molt they hide until their new shells harden, making them more difficult for lobstermen to catch. The peak lobster fishing months are typically August and September. Catches were off in these months, but lobstermen report good harvests in October and November. Lobstermen in Nova Scotia are reporting catching soft-shelled lobsters in December, an unheard of event because it means the crustaceans molted and grew the new shells, which have yet to harden, much later in the summer than normal.

Because lobsters were harder to come by, the price per pound was about $1 higher this summer and fall. While that means lobstermen got more money per pound, Bob Bayer, director of the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine, cautions that high prices can have negative consequences. When prices get too high, chain restaurants take lobster dishes off their menus and stop buying processed lobster meat. This has already begun to happen, he says.

Another economic concern is that despite higher prices paid to lobstermen, the costs of diesel fuel, bait and other supplies have increased, cutting into fishermen’s profits. If lobster catches decline, fishermen who are barely making enough money will be driven out of the business.

To better predict future catch levels, the state has moved to a data-based stock assessment system. While this is helpful, not enough is known about lobster health and biology, says Carl Wilson, senior lobster scientist for DMR.

The Lobster Institute is working with fishermen to develop a trap to capture only juvenile lobsters so they can be counted. This will help answer basic questions, but not the more perplexing problem of why so few young lobsters are growing to catchable size.

Lobster is synonymous with Maine and many coastal communities are highly dependent on the crustacean, so it only makes sense to know as much as possible about them.