A decrease in American lobster catches since 2021 due to migration to colder northern habitats has defined the industry’s perseverance.
The shrinking population is a blessing in disguise for Canada, where lobster are heading away from warming northeast U.S.’ waters.
Such wholesale migrations have cost Maine alone some 25 million pounds in total catches in the past 4 years.
While the east coast state landed 111 million lobster pounds in 2021, this had dropped to 86.1 million pounds in 2024.
Staying Power in Maine
Even though this is the biggest decline since 2009, the 2024 haul is still higher than that of the early 2000s.
Between 2000 and 2005, catches in Maine ranged from 50 to 80 million annually, which means the 2020s are way ahead.
Besides, 2024 brought Maine’s lobstermen a hefty $528 million, the best industry returns since 2021.
This show of grit even made Governor Janet Mills to praise Maine’s lobster industry for historic perseverance.
American Lobster Cheaper than in 2024
Luckily for seafood lovers, the northward migration has not yet registered on prices of lobster in the United States.
Though still among the highest since 2007, lobster market rates in early 2025 are markedly cheaper than 2024’s.
The Federal Reserve Bank, St. Louis shows that lobster cost 257.471 index points in January 2025, versus 334.543 points of April 2024.
January’s low index has helped bring wholesale prices to $15.49 per pound of hard-shell lobster in March 2025.
Tariff Cloud
Away from price, all is not rosy for the American lobster sector whose value chain has connections with tariff-hit Canada.
Canada processes a sizeable volume of the Maine catch or 78% of the total federal harvest, as of 2023.
As a fresh produce susceptible to tariffs, live lobsters could attract price raises to help processors break even.
So, could the lobster industry of the United States finally meet its match after years of resilience? A declining lobster population in New England shows a natural possibility while a tariff war indicates a manmade match. As such, below statistics examine federal lobster population growth and decline over the years.
American Lobster Population Statistics
The total landings of lobster in the United States have always not been enough even during peak production years. The country normally has to import an extra average 24 million pounds from Canada, each year. To reduce this dependence, many attempts have come up to increase self-sufficiency. The first one of these was population transplant beginning 1874. In the 1874-1889 period, California planted some 104,00 larvae and 355 grown lobsters into its coasts. By 1917, Washington had also transplanted some 24,572 adult lobsters. Most of these efforts however, proved ineffective.
The U.S.’ lobster population consists of two main species, namely spiny lobster (Gulf coast) and American lobster (east coast). American lobster is the most valuable for it is worth $115 million, as of 2022. The species occupies a lengthy 1,300 miles of the northeast coastline in strips of mainly 50 miles wide.
How has the U.S.’ lobster harvest performed up to 2021?
The harvest of both species, which partially contributes to population declines, upped between 1958 and 2021. 1958 landed only 27 million pounds, partially because there were only 8,000 fishermen then. By 1980, production was still growing at a maximum 40 million pounds. In 2021, landings totaled over 134 million pounds, or more than 5 times the 1958 volume.
After peak 2016 catches, total commercial catches have been declining, even after a 2021 comebak. The table below illustrates the decline with data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
| Year | Total Landings U.S. [pounds] |
| 2021 | 135 million |
| 2022 | 120.6 million |
| 2023 | 120.1 million |
| 2024 | 86.1 million (Maine alone) |