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Abstract For most of the past few decades, landings in the American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery in Maine have been increasing, but a recent downturn in catch suggests the fishery may be at an inflection point. Drawing on multiple datasets associated with the fishery, we use this period of transition to review fleet dynamics in the fishery by analyzing how fishing effort has changed through time (2008–2022). When possible, age, gender, geography, and scale of fishing operation are considered to delimit intra-fleet differences. The results of this review reveal large-scale changes in intra-fleet dynamics that help to explain how there has been the appearance of fleet-wide stability for most of the 15-year study period despite mounting socioeconomic and environmental stressors. Changes in intra-fleet dynamics are most evident across geography and scale of fishing operation. In addition, this study finds that prior research has overestimated a key metric of fishing effort in the Maine lobster fishery by an order of magnitude. This latter insight bears significance because the lobster industry is under mounting pressure to reduce risk of gear interactions with large marine mammals, and future management decisions will likely hinge on estimates about fishing effort and the probability of marine mammal interactions. Continued efforts to understand fishing fleet dynamics and how they differ among segments of the fishery are vital to making well-informed policy decisions in the face of change, including the iconic Maine lobster fishery. 

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) is an iconic component of the sociocultural and economic fabric of the state of Maine, where the commercial lobster fishery supports thousands of livelihoods. However, landings have recently declined, raising concerns about the long-term trajectory of the fishery, and highlighting the need for research to evaluate how changes to the fishery will impact harvesters and coastal communities. To address this need, we used a collaborative, mixed-methods approach to identify eight indicators that describe socioeconomic resilience in the lobster fishery from 2008 to 2022. Sufficient secondary data was available to fully quantify two of the indicators, coastal accessibility and operational condition, which track changes in housing availability and affordability, and the condition of a lobstermen’s business over time, respectively. We found spatial heterogeneity in the trends of both indicators over time, indicating that the socioeconomic impacts of changes to the fishery may vary along the coast. For example, coastal accessibility has declined in all coastal regions of Maine over time but the decline has been the most pronounced in the southern region. Our results lay the groundwork for continued development of socioeconomic indicators of resilience in Maine’s lobster fishery and can support the initiation of a long-term monitoring program to identify and respond to changes in socioeconomic condition of the lobster fleet. This research may also serve as a model for quantifying socioeconomic components of other fisheries around the world, many of which are facing an evolving landscape of social, economic, regulatory, and environmental shifts. 

Abstract Cooperative Fisheries Research (CFR) aims to incorporate different types of knowledge into fisheries science through the convergence of diverse perspectives, skills, and expertise. CFR can facilitate knowledge co-production and the salience, credibility, and legitimacy of science, yet it can be difficult to operationalize. In Maine’s American lobster fishery, where CFR is a hallmark of the fishery, pressure to implement conservation measures to protect North Atlantic right whales, one of the world’s most endangered large whale species, poses a major challenge for harvesters. Endeavoring to follow best practices associated with CFR, our research team set out to work with state management and fishing industry partners to evaluate the socioeconomic impacts of new whale conservation regulations on the fishery. We co-defined relevant and actionable research questions and designed a sampling approach that included multiple efforts to contact industry participants. Although the process we engaged in had some of the key ingredients for success, ultimately participation was too low to achieve our research aims. We use this paper to discuss our failure and draw on the theory of scalar politics from critical geography to reflect on challenges we encountered, including how the contentious socio-political backdrop within which the initiative transpired impacted our research.