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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — In the wake of looming federal regulations on the lobster industry, New England fisheries are facing a year-over-year downturn. That's the takeaway from new numbers released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries on Friday.
Maine lobster fishers took in 37% less revenue in 2022 than in 2021, a decline in value of about $350 million from the year before. In a statement, the Department pointed out that 2021 was an unusually good year for the Maine lobster industry, so 2022 looks worse in comparison. Governor Janet Mills said the industry was seeing "tremendous uncertainty" over "pending federal whale regulations, compounded by the high costs for bait and fuel."
The industry is staring down several simultaneous challenges, including having New England lobster placed on Seafood Watch's influential "red list."
The Massachusetts lobster industry is far smaller than the Maine fishery, but also appears to have taken a serious hit. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries told WBZ NewsRadio that state lobster fishers earned about $81.5 million dollars in 2022 — down about a third from their from $125 million in 2021. The department stressed that the numbers for 2022 are preliminary, but didn't offer an explanation as to why they would have declined.
The Massachusetts industry took in about 2.3 million fewer pounds of lobster in 2022 — down to 14.5 million pounds from 16.8 million.
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