Steaming Ahead | June 2025

I get a lot of questions about how the changes being made by the Trump Administration will affect the lobster industry. But there is so much happening on so many fronts, it makes it very difficult to keep track, never mind trying to figure out what it all means!

Photo by H. Mcgowan, courtesy of the MLMC.

Are the Trump changes good or will they hurt us? From where I sit, it depends on who you ask and which issues you care about. Despite the confusion and uncertainty prevalent now, many people are genuinely excited to finally see some changes, while others are feeling overwhelmed and worried about what it all means for the lobster fishery.

I certainly do not have a crystal ball to see the future, but when I look at the big picture, I see remarkable opportunities to right some of the wrongs done to our nation’s fishermen by the federal government. These rare opportunities are driven by the Trump Administration’s desire to hold government accountable and acknowledge the importance of the nation’s fisheries to our economy and heritage.

The most recent Trump Executive Order (EO) on May 23, Restoring Gold Standard Science, tackles head on the issue of how the government is using — or misusing science — in its regulatory processes. This is how the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) nearly dismantled the lobster industry in its effort to protect right whales. The EO cites the MLA’s legal victory against NMFS as a case in point, noting that NMFS “justified a biological opinion by adopting an admitted ‘worst-case scenario’ projection of the North Atlantic right whale population that it believed was ‘very likely’ wrong,” proposing actions that “could have destroyed the historic Maine lobster fishery.” The EO lays out nine standards to define Gold Standard Science, which must be adopted by government agencies.

The Trump Administration’s EO Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness on April 17 seeks to identify the most heavily overregulated fisheries, take action to reduce regulatory burdens, review national marine monuments for potential commercial fishing access, and promote the production, sale, and export of U.S. seafood. To ensure the Maine lobster industry is considered in any future actions to reduce regulatory burdens, the MLA submitted an extensive letter detailing how the Maine lobster fishery is one of the “most heavily overregulated fisheries requiring action,” noting that “were it not for an act of Congress and a judicial decision from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, an overzealous National Marine Fisheries Service would presently be carrying out a plan to regulate the Maine lobster fishery out of existence.”

The Trump Administration has already followed up on its promise to review national monuments, restoring commercial fishing access the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts area on May 9, an action that the MLA has strongly supported.

Most of the Trump Administration’s energy policies have been very positive for the lobster fishery. The most significant win was the pause on all federal offshore wind projects issued by President Trump on his first day in office, which specifically highlights the importance of maintaining “a robust fishing industry for future generations.” On April 11, the Administration defunded the University of Maine offshore wind research projects, which have been highly controversial among Maine lobstermen.

Of concern, however, is the Administration’s “request for information” to explore opportunities to expand offshore drilling for oil and gas in all areas off the nation’s coasts, which could end the moratorium in place for the Gulf of Maine. Fortunately, Senators Collins and King responded by sponsoring a bill to ban offshore drilling in the Gulf of Maine.

The administration has also taken two actions through its energy policy to limit the burden of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The President used his national emergencies power to declare a National Energy Emergency on January 20, stating that the ESA cannot be used to as an obstacle to development. In a second action, on April 17 the Department of Interior issued a proposed rule to rescind the definition of “harm” in ESA regulations and rely solely on the direct language of the ESA itself.

What about tariffs? This issue has certainly received the most media attention and has caused a lot of confusion in the lobster industry. Most lobstermen I hear from worry that any tariffs on lobster will increase the price to consumers, which will likely come out of their pockets in the form of a lower boat price. Industry-wide concern stems from the uncertainty driven by the number of times tariff policies have been announced and then changed and the lack of certainty about what may happen next. This has created market instability.

So far, lobster traded between Maine and Canada has been spared because it is part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the 2020 trade agreement that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). As of late May, the tariff war between the U.S. and China has deescalated, and similar negotiations are happening with the European Union.

That leaves the Trump Administration’s efforts to shrink and reorganize government. While the administration’s initiatives have the potential to downsize government and wasteful spending, they also have the potential to cripple the agencies that manage our fisheries and end critical research needed for them to operate. The Trump Administration’s proposed budget, released on May 2, cut the NOAA budget by 24%, which amounts to $1.7 billion. The Gulf of Maine’s oceanographic buoys maintained by NERACOOS are among the programs slated for elimination. The MLA has written a letter in support of maintaining these buoys. We also saw Maine Sea Grant lose funding in late February, and fortunately, get reinstated in early May.

Like it or not, lobster is a public resource, which means everything lobstermen do is regulated by the government. As the Trump Administration moves forward with downsizing government, the MLA will continue to advocate that critical lobster management and right whale research programs remain funded. We cannot go back to the days when managers blithely propose to close fisheries due to a lack of data.

I am a firm believer that change brings opportunity. The MLA will continue to pursue opportunities to influence positive outcomes for the lobster fishery and to speak up about proposals that may harm us.

The best news? The summer season is finally here. Enjoy these beautiful days, and as always, stay safe on the water.