In the News | February 2026

Senate appropriations committee provides lobster research funding

U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has secured funding for several efforts related to the lobster fishery. $30 million is allocated to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) for Right Whale-related research and monitoring. Additionally, language in the bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to collaborate with Canada on developing risk reduction measures comparable in effectiveness to U.S. strategies. A total of $2 million in NOAA funds was earmarked for the Maine Sea Grant Program’s American Lobster Initiative. The four-year award will support collaborative research by Maine Sea Grant and its regional partners to address challenges facing the American lobster fishery. NOAA funding also includes $600,000 in second-year support for four 2025-26 American lobster research awards. The appropriations bill also includes $1 million to expand the American Lobster Settlement Index collector survey at the University of Maine.

Canada, China call temporary truce on tariffs

In January Canadian prime minister Mark Carney announced a new trade

agreement with China that would lift tariffs on lobster and crab, as well as canola meal and peas, beginning March 1. A Chinese tariff of 25% on Canadian lobster went into effect in March, 2025. The tariff relief is temporary and expires on December 31. Canada exported 19.3 million pounds of live lobster to China, worth $272 million (CAD) from January through October 2025; the value was down 35% from the same period in 2024.

Oldest “Lobster Lady” dies at 105

Virginia “Lobster Lady” Oliver died January 23 at Pen Bay Hospital in Rockport at the age of 105. Oliver hadn’t fished much during the past three years but like many Maine lobstermen, she continued to renew her state commercial lobster fishing license just in case. Her most recent license expired in December, according to state records.

Born in 1920 in Rockland, Oliver grew up on the Neck, a small island connected by a tidal sandbar to Andrews Island. Her father was a lobster dealer, and her parents ran a general store. She would spend winters on the mainland attending school. Oliver began lobstering on her older brother’s boat when she was eight years old.

She married Max Oliver, a Spruce Head lobsterman. She held jobs at a sardine factory and a printing press before she joined Max on the boat that he named after her. When her husband died in 2006, Oliver joined her son, also named Max, and fished with him, hauling about 400 traps between them about three times a week. Max retired three years ago at age 80. Oliver was the subject of several children’s books, including one published in 2022 by Barbara Walsh and another in 2023 by Bangor author Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs.

Lobster Institute's Town Meeting draws Canadian, Maine lobstermen and businesses

The U.S.-Canada Lobster Town Meeting, hosted by the Lobster Institute took place in Moncton, New Brunswick from January 21-23. More than 200 industry members gathered to discuss a range of issues and challenges facing the industry. The agenda ecompassed updates from the lobster fisheries in the U.S. and Canada, an overview of the lobster management system in each country, review of lobster tagging studies, and an in-depth discussion of the lobster market, trade policy and tariffs. The meeting was marked by collegiality. As MLA board member Richard Howland put it, "At the end of the day, we're doing the same thing. We want to go lobster fishing. We want to make a living, we want to take care of our family."

New Brunswick Fisheries Minister Pat Finnigan addresses Lobster Town Meeting attendees. Lobster Institute photo.