MAINE PUBLIC • September 16, 2022
Although there are only about 6,000 licensed commercial lobstermen in Maine, the $725 million worth of crustaceans they pulled in last year make theirs the most valuable single fishery in the nation. Factor in the estimated $1 billion spent on bait and gear, plus the countless lobster rolls and dinners served up by the state’s $3 billion restaurant industry, and the industry’s economic impact quickly adds up. So it’s not surprising that Maine’s elected leaders would rush to the defense of the industry while blaming ship strikes and lesser-regulated Canadian fisheries for the recent spate of whale deaths. Biologists and whale advocates have, in response, often felt ignored in Maine.