Gulf of Maine lobster fishermen will not throw back market-ready lobster into the ocean after a February 4, 2025 size rule repeal.
An association serving 11 states on the East Coast of the United States finally begrudgingly decided to favor worried fishermen.
The decision by the American Lobster Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission now annuls the looming July 1, 2025 size limit deadline.
1-Pound Lobster Off Tables?
The July 1st rule would have eliminated the most popular lobster size in the North American market, the 1-to-1.25-pounder.
Indeed, the mid-2023 rule had made it impossible to harvest lobster bigger than 3 5/16 inches in carapace length.
And this was just the tip of the iceberg for summer 2025 would have brought the minimum to 3 3/8 inches.
Beforehand, lobstermen could have legally fished shellfish as little as 3 1/4 inches long using a measure they call a gauge.
Reluctant Repeal
The fishermen’s union argued that decreasing size would have made local lobster virtually uncompetitive against Canada’s American lobster species.
After much agitation, the American Lobster Board reluctantly conceded but lamented giving up Gulf fisheries’ protection at the “11th hour.”
Daniel McKiernan, director at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries rued the surrender and wittingly attributed it to 100 angry fishermen.
Maine Lobster Stock Decline
The reason for reducing size has been of a protective nature, at a time when Maine waters are warming faster than normal.
Earlier, the board had made it mandatory to reduce harvest if scientific proof showed a decline in lobster population by 35%.
Not only did results show a decline in 2023, but the decrease was 40% versus that of the 2016-18 period.
While this decline shows the decision to revert size cuts has nothing to do with healthy stocks, it has nevertheless generated industry celebration.
Dustin Delano, a lobsterman and COO of New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association enthused to AP that lobster brings billions regionally.
As a result of the belated repeal, U.S.’ lobster prices could ameliorate. The prices had recently pushed up, following an oncoming tariff on imports from Canada, a major source of lobster. And as the data below shows, Gulf of Maine lobster is not only a price decider but a leading American seafood.
Gulf of Maine Lobster Statistics
The Gulf of Maine is a sea depression along the New England Coast with a surface area of 93,000 square km. Although its marine richness owes to cold waters, scientists have recorded warming waters. This has partially occasioned a reduction in lobster stock by 40% between 2016 and 2023. Be it as it may, the estuary provides 93% of American lobster species (Homarus Americanus) landings from just the states of Maine and Massachusetts.
How have Gulf of Maine’s lobster earnings evolved since 2013?
The gulf’s catch value in 2013 was $364 million from a volume of126 million pounds. Three years later in 2016, the gulf was providing 2/3rds of the lobster harvest in the United States, per the Marine Stewardship Council. By 2023, the state of Maine alone earned $464.4 million from lobster sales totaling 42,517 tonnes (93.5 million pounds).
Has price kept up with declining lobster population?
Between 2020 and 2023, catches remained steady despite a population decline of 40%, but prices fluctuated. In Maine, landing (wholesale) prices were between $6.50 and 7 a pound, according to fishermen’s data. By 2022, the price had reached an all-time record of $6.71 a pound while in 2023 it halved to $3.97 per pound.