Maine, Provincial Lobstermen, Dealers Share Thoughts on 2025 Season

Maine and Canadian lobstermen, dealers and processors met via Zoom on June 11 for the second year in a row to discuss the 2025 lobster season and possible challenges that the industry may be facing this year. The meeting was hosted by The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine.

A Nova Scotia lobster boat heading in. Photo courtesy of N. Atlantic Fishing Boats.

Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Maine, opened the meeting by giving an update on the spring fishery in the Atlantic Maritime provinces. The southwest Nova Scotia season ended on May 31; landings were down significantly over the previous year, approximately 28% overall. He noted that landings have been declining each year since a peak in 2016.

Bernie Berry, from Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 34, said that landings in his area were down between 34 to 35 million pounds, a dramatic drop from last spring. In the past, approximately 60% of lobster is landed in the fall in the provinces. That pattern flipped in recent years, with 60% of the annual catch landed in the spring. However, that did not occur in 2025. “This spring is an anomaly,” Irvine said.

The spring lobster season on Prince Edward Island closes on June 25, and so far, landings had been slow, said Ian McPherson, head of the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA). “It’s been a cold spring and the weather’s been poor,” he said. The eastern part of the island has seen landings down 30% to 40% over previous years.

Lobster harvests in Quebec and Newfoundland have increased steadily during the past several years. Newfoundland fishermen landed a record 23 million pounds last year, however 2025 landings are way behind 2024, according to Nat Richard of the Lobster Processors’ Association. While landings in Cape Breton are coming in strong at the start of that region’s season, in general the Canadian catch is significantly off this spring compared to 2024, he said. That came as a surprise to Canadian processors, who had been expecting heavy landings like last year, which would have led to a drop in price. But that has not happened yet.

Jonah crabs are again a big problem throughout the Maritime region, according to the Canadian attendees. “They are small, 3 inches or so, so there’s not much you can do with them. There’s no real market,” said Berry. “I’ve never seen it like this before.”

Demand for lobster has also been modest this spring. “It has been a challenge to move lobster,” said Spiros Tourkakis, East Coast Seafood. Thus far this year has been very different from past years, he continued, in part because of market instability and the impact of threatened U.S. tariffs. “We expected tariffs and a low price because of strong catches but exactly the opposite happened. Inventory has cleared out over the winter and I expect strong catches as the water warms up. But demand is not as strong from food service and retail. The world market does not seem robust,” Tourkakis said.

“Consumers are less confident,” added Ben Coniff from Luke’s Lobster. “That affects the demand for lobster.”

Patrice McCarron, MLA executive director, noted that the spring fishery in Maine has been similar to that of the provinces in many respects: cold water, slow landings. “The looming question is, what are we facing this season, cautious optimism or something else?” she asked.

“If Canadian landings remain down, the price is probably going to be good for Maine,” Irvine said.

“But this type of uncertainty on the trade front is devastating to the industry. It’s an albatross on the neck of the industry for as long as it goes on,” said Nat Richard.