Maine Fisheries

In 2005, Mainers landed 70 million pounds of lobster—more than half of the annual U.S. catch. Lobster, like many other commercial fish and shellfish, have water-temperature thresholds that determine where they can grow, survive and reproduce. As the Gulf of Maine warms, deeper waters as well as near-shore waters of Downeast Maine may become warm enough for lobster habitation. However, warmer waters are also more hospitable to lobster-shell disease, which has decimated lobster populations in the relatively warmer waters of southern New England.