Courtesy / Department of Marine Resources
Lobster accounts for nearly half of commercial fishery landings in Maine.
March 25, 2021
In historically tough year, Maine fishermen brought in history's 9th-most valuable catch
Photo / Laurie Schreiber
Lobster, Maine’s biggest fishery, continued to see good results despite the pandemic.
By Staff
Despite unprecedented market losses, Maine fishermen brought in over a half-billion dollars for their catch in 2020.
Valued at $516.8 million, the ex-vessel value, or price paid at the dock, of Maine's commercially harvested marine species was the ninth-highest on record.
Maine's lobster fishery once again accounted for most of the state's overall landed value, with the lobster catch totaling $405.98 million.
While the landed value was down from $491.2 million in 2019 and the 2016 peak of $540.7 million, it was the seventh straight year that the lobster fishery exceeded $400 million.
"Maine's lobster industry faced tremendous uncertainty in 2020," Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher said in a news release. "At this time last year, the industry was facing a pending market collapse due to COVID-19, but industry's response was remarkable.
"Dealers developed new markets and harvesters adjusted effort based on market realities, all of which resulted in a good boat price during a year with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.”
At 96 million pounds, the catch declined by approximately 5% from 2019 landings, but according to landings data, the volume was the ninth-highest ever. At $4.20 per pound, the boat price was significantly better than the $3.76 average boat price over the past 10 years.
"The Maine lobster industry continues to demonstrate exceptional resiliency," said Keliher.
Early in the pandemic, the industry began a successful pivot to new retail markets, particularly home chefs.
Other species
Softshell clam harvesters earned the second-highest value of all Maine fishermen in 2020 on the strength of a six-cent per pound increase in value. Despite 1.2 million fewer pounds landed, harvesters were paid $15.7 million.
File photo / Laurie Schreiber
A clam harvester heads out on the flats at dawn.
Maine scallop fishermen brought ashore an additional 224,874 pounds compared to 2019, ranking the fishery as the third-most valuable, despite a 19-cent per pound decrease in value.
Blood worms, used as bait for species like striped bass, were No. 4 in 2020 value, at $6.65 million. The value was an increase of $363,773 over the previous year as a result of a $1.34 per pound jump, despite a decline in landings of just over 2%.
Menhaden, used as bait for lobster, were Maine's No. 5 most valuable commercially harvested species, at $6.395 million.
Oysters, cultivated in aquaculture operations, were valued at $5.9 million, which made them the sixth-most valuable commercial species in 2020 due to a per-pound increase of 24 cents, notwithstanding a drop in overall value of $987,628.
Despite a decrease in per-pound value of more than $1,500, elvers remained one of the most valuable species harvested in Maine in 2020, with harvesters earning just over $5 million.
File photo / David Clough
Tiny elvers, which are used to grow market-size eels, remain one of Maine’s most valuable species.
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