Researchers from the University of Maine have created a new, holistic measure to study the resilience of the Maine lobster industry, which is drawing praise from industry leaders for identifying the structural and market factors that impacted it in recent years.
That industry has seen dramatic fluctuations in value in recent years, spiking to a record USD 724 million (EUR 694 million) in 2021 before dropping to USD 388 million (EUR 372 million) in 2022. The UMaine team said it hopes to quantify some of the challenges causing those flucuations in new ways, which can help fisheries management – something members of the industry said is sorely needed.
“For far too long, fishery managers have lacked the data needed to consider the social and economic impacts of regulations on Maine’s lobster industry," Maine Lobstermen’s Association Executive Director Patrice McCarron said. "This study provides a suite of indicators to fill that gap so that future regulations may address sustaining the resource, lobstermen and Maine’s coastal communities.”
Published in Marine Policy, the study centered on eight key socio economic factors which it said could be used to monitor the resilience of Maine’s lobster fishery. These were coastal accessibility, operation condition, business investments, community composition, financial health, risk-taking, personal spending, and physical and mental health. The UMaine team drew their data from public sources and state and federal agencies.
One of the study’s major findings is that Maine’s coastal housing is no longer owned by people working in the lobster industry, as it once was. Access to the coast meant cheaper commutes for lobstermen and more time on the water, but housing affordability going down is also a marker of general economic insecurity.
As U Maine School of Marine Sciences research associate Theresa Burnham explained, the study has quantified “important socioeconomic components of the fishery that lobstermen have been describing for many years.” She said she hopes that communities will use the data from the study to make policy changes: “Quantifying the indicators provides an opportunity for fishermen, local communities and managers to identify and quickly respond to changes in the socioeconomic condition of the fleet.”
The researchers stressed that their model would become more useful as more data became available, pointing out that robust public data exists for the coastal accessibility and operational conditions measures, but not for the other factors studied, like physical and mental health.
“This research will provide valuable data to help researchers and regulators understand the connection between the biological status of the resource and the socioeconomic well-being of the industry and the communities it serves,” study co-author and senior lobster biologist at the Maine Department of Marine Resources Kathleen Reardon said.