Lobster harvesters earned $528.4 million in 2024, with an average per-pound price of $6.14, according to data released by the state Department of Marine Resources.
The so-called boat price, that which is paid to lobstermen, was up last year from the 2023 value of $464 million. The price is the second highest recorded, according to DMR.
The lobster fishery landed a little over 86 million pounds in 2024, down from 96.9 million pounds in 2023.
The catch has hovered around 100 million pounds in recent years, with 97.9 million pounds landed in 2020, 110.7 million pounds in 2021, and 98.9 million pounds in 2022.
“It’s a scary thing, not knowing where the industry is going.”
Fishermen have reported changes in long-standing patterns in the lobster fishery over the last decade, with shedders arriving at unpredictable times and the size of the lobster found in traps also changing.
“Hard shells are there all season,” said Bob Sawyer of Bucksport, a stern man working on the Whistler out of Blue Hill. Years ago, they wouldn’t be seen in great numbers until early August, he said.
Much of the catch last year would have been thrown back if the proposed gauge increase had gone into effect, Sawyer said.
“To me, it’s a good sign for the future,” he said.
Wilson Boone, who works on John McCarthy’s True North out of Vinalhaven, thought the 2024 catch “was very similar to” the previous year.
“We’re certainly seeing changes out there,” he said, with far fewer shedders. “They didn’t show up the way they sometimes do. In some ways, it was more gradual.”
Like Sawyer, Boone said his boat saw lots of lobster right on the edge of being legal. He speculates that the return of menhaden—known locally as pogies—could mean more predation of juvenile lobster.
“It’s a scary thing, not knowing where the industry is going,” he said.
David Black of Belfast, a long-time fisherman in upper Penobscot Bay, said lobster seemed to be moving to deeper waters. He also noticed a lot of sea squirts—known by marine scientists as ascidians—in his traps, making them extremely heavy to haul.
Overall, Maine commercial harvesters earned $74 million more in 2024 than in 2023, with total landings across all species valued at $709 million, according to DMR.
“During a year shaped by unprecedented storms and damage to our working waterfronts,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a prepared statement, “Maine’s commercial fishermen, aquaculturists, and seafood dealers once again delivered a major economic benefit to our state. They did so through hard work and their time-honored commitment to producing and delivering the best seafood in the world.”
The softshell clam fishery was the state’s second most valuable in 2024 at $15.4 million, with harvesters earning $58,971 more than in 2023.
Patrick Keliher, who is retiring this year as DMR commissioner, noted that the softshell clam fishery continues to be lucrative.
“In 2024, DMR began several projects to improve management of this important resource,” he said. “DMR conducted programs to train municipal marine resource officials, held informational meetings, and provided mini grants to support municipal shellfish management and conservation work.”
Maine oysters were again in high demand in 2024, earning growers and harvesters $14.8 million on the strength of an eleven-cent price per pound increase for harvesters, which placed the fishery as Maine’s third most valuable.
Menhaden, a favorite bait of lobstermen, earned Maine fishermen $13.2 million at the dock, ranking it as Maine’s fourth most valuable fishery.
Elver harvesters earned $12.2 million, with harvesters seeing a per pound price of $1,239.
Still, it was a challenging year, Keliher noted.
“The storms that destroyed docks and piers along the coast put these industries at serious risk. But thanks to Gov. Mills’ success in securing funding, the state has been able help rebuild damaged coastal infrastructure, make it more resilient to the effects of climate change, and protect critically important waterfront access for those who make a living on the water.”
