Lobster supply sees changes from 2010 to 2014

First published in Landings, January, 2016.

The National Marine Fisheries Service publishes Fisheries of the United States (FUS), an annual yearbook of fishery statistics for the United States. The report provides data on U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries landings and values as well as other aspects of U.S. commercial fishing. In addition, data are reported on the U.S. seafood processing industry, imports and exports of fishery-related products, and domestic supply and per capita consumption of fishery products.

The FUS for 2014 shows continued steady growth in the U.S. lobster fishery. During the five-year period from 2010 to 2014, U.S. landings of American lobster increased by 28%, from 115.4 million pounds to 147.8 million pounds. In 2014, Maine accounted for 84% of U.S. landings.

This increase in lobster landings has significantly increased revenue from lobster in many small communities along the Maine coast. According to the Maine Department of Marine Resources, Stonington remained Maine’s most profitable port for lobster landings from 2010 to 2014, showing a $15 million increase (33%) in value. In 2014 Vinalhaven was second and posted an 80% increase in value, from just under $20 million in 2010 to more than $35.5 million in 2014. Beals, a town with just over 500 residents, was the fourth most profitable port, nearly doubling its value over that period, from $11.3 million in 2010 to $22 million in 2014.

The FUS 2014 report also shows that the U.S. and Canadian lobster supply chain continues to be tightly connected. U.S. exports of lobster to Canada increased by 57% over the five-year period, from 44.7 million pounds in 2010 to 70.3 million in 2014. During that same time period, imports of Canadian lobster to the U.S. increased by 33%, from 74.5 million pounds in 2010 to 99 million in 2014. The report does not break down how much of the lobster imported from Canada was originally landed in the U.S., then processed in Canada and sent back to the U.S.

Exports of U.S. lobster to overseas markets showed a dramatic increase of 66% over the five years, rising from 30.1 million pounds in 2010 to 49.9 million pounds in 2014. The amount of lobster sold in the U.S. decreased by 32%, from 40.6 million pounds in 2010 to 27.6 million in 2014.