Lobster Town Meeting Returns to Portland

The U.S.-Canada Lobster Town meeting, organized by the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine, will return to Portland this year on February 3 and 4. The meeting will address pressing issues affecting the lobster industry in the U.S. and Canada. This year’s theme is the U.S.- Canadian lobster fishery and the North Atlantic right whale.

The two-day meeting will feature presentations and discussions on topics such as the impact of whale-related regulations on lobstermen, the impact on lobster markets, shifting whale distributions in a changing climate, and solutions and technology, among other subjects. Invited speakers include Brett Gilcrest, director of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO); Melanie Giffin, marine biologist at the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association; Meredith Mendelson, Maine Department of Marine Resources deputy commissioner; Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association; Geoff Irvine, executive director, The Lobster Council of Canada; Marianne LaCroix, executive director, Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative; and Nick Record, senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory, among others.

"This 18th Town Meeting continues our long-standing tradition of welcoming lobster industry members, fishery managers, and scientists from both sides of the border to share information and views," said Lobster Institute Director Rick Wahle. "The industry-organized meeting makes a special effort to engage the harvesting sector to discuss the status of the lobster resource and the business of lobstering from their perspective."