Beginning July 1, 2025, the U.S. lobster landing size minimum on the Gulf of Maine will have upgraded a wee bit. This follows the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s decision to protect diminishing stocks in a state famous for its lobster rolls.
According to The Boston Globe on August 18, 2024, the minimum catch size will upgrade by around 1.6 mm.
Besides, there will be an equal increase a year later in summer 2026, again up by a sixteenth of an inch.
Fishermen will therefore lengthen their measuring gauges by 1/16th inches, to 35/16 inches over the existing 3 1/4 inches.
A measuring gauge is a ruler-like object that fishermen align to the carapace of a shellfish to find its length.
Retreating Lobster Stock
The move aims to replenish dipping lobster numbers especially on the all-important North Atlantic coast.
Here, warming currents and other factors have seen catches fall by 39% in the 2020-22 period from the 2016-18 one. This according to a 2023 survey by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
The commission’s choice to increase the legal catch size borrows from its rule for re-sizing if the lobster count falls by 35%.
Lobstermen Concerned
In its part, the lobster industry felt in as far back as 2023 that the above figures by the commission were incorrect. The industry’s current concern however is on size, citing that losing 1/16th of an inch can mean much to consumer pricing perception.
For instance, the resize will make some popular market lobsters inaccessible, particularly those that weigh 1 to 1.15 pounds.
The change could also give Canada’s fishermen an “unfair competitive edge,” for most fisheries here allow 79 mm (3.11 inches) minimums.
This is despite Canada already having the privilege of being the biggest lobster source in North America.
The lengthy interim to July 2025 however could allow Canada’s maritime authorities to rethink and perhaps “level” the market. This according to Krista Porter, who heads the Maine Lobstermen’s Association in a Central Maine news story of August 9.
Be it as it may, the U.S. lobster minimum size reassessment could still have a positive impact on not only conservation but competition. Indeed, an impending import ban of under-sized lobster from Canada could force Canadians to bring size parity and hence equate pricing. To learn more on the U.S. lobster market as a whole, read on the statistics below.
U.S. Lobster Statistics
The United States is one of the global leaders in the production and export of lobsters. The production of the predominant species, American lobster (Homarus americanus), reached 119 million pounds (54,091 tonnes) in 2022 worth $515 million. This according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
What is Maine’s rankings in lobster production?
In 2016, Maine ranked first in the federal lobster catch value worth $633.6 million. This is even as Alaska ranked first in all seafood at $1.6 billion. Maine fishes American lobster species while Alaska mainly harvests spotted lobster species.
How big are lobster exports by the United States?
In 2018, the U.S. exported 864,660 tonnes of prepared/preserved lobster worth $11.298 million, the second biggest worldwide after Canada’s. The U.S. lost its second place in 2022 to the United Arab Emirates for prepared or preserved lobster exports worth $9.71 million.
Is the U.S. a major lobster importer?
The United States imported $342 million worth of prepared or preserved lobster in 2022 and ranked first in such imports worldwide. In retrospect, the country also led 2018 imports worth $242.984 million, totaling 7.597 million tonnes, according to the World Bank.
How much seafood (including lobster) do U.S. consumers eat per year?
According to NOAA, in 2018, Americans ate 16.1 kg per person per year of all seafood (including lobster), 94% of which imported.