Maine is undoubtedly the most productive lobster fishing state in the United States and catches has been high for the last few years. This year, however, Maine’s lobster catch is well behind last year’s, with only a few weeks left of the fishing season. Fishermen had landed less than 50 million pounds (~ 22 thousand tonnes) of lobster in Maine at the end of September, according to the Portland Press Herald. Compared to the total landings during the same period last year that is 40 percent less, and nearly 40 percent off the five-year average. Pat Keliher, Commissioner of the state’s Department of Marine Resources stated that some of the decline could be attributed to lobsters shedding their shells late in the year. The lobster catch typically picks up when many lobsters lose their old shells and reach legal size.
