Lobster businesses have been a staple in Maine’s cultural identity for decades, the majority of which being family operated. But despite being a strong economic drive for Maine, the industry still faces certain threats. During my interview with Jason Skillin, Chebeague Island lobsterman of 18 years, he discusses the 2025 summer season and reveals the major challenges threatening Maine lobstermen today. 

Every year looks different for Maine’s lobster businesses, with fluctuations in climate and tourism playing a significant role in the supply and demand for lobster. According to Skillin, years 2023 and 2024 posed some concern for the lobstering community with a lower overall lobster population, the majority of which were staying off shore. However, this year’s 2025 lobstering season brought back some hope. 

Says Skillin, “It was more of a historically normal year where the lobsters moved way in shore.” He goes on to explain the impact of climate change.

“The guys that had been staying off shore all of last summer came in this year, and really stayed in. It stayed pretty steady this Summer, and I think that’s because more lobsters were pushed in shallower with the cold winter we had this year and the cold water. They didn’t feel like they needed to stay off shore.” According to Skillin, many lobstermen have run into issues with warmer water temperatures in the past couple of years, with more and more lobsters residing off shore. 

When asked about the most notable shifts he’s seen in the industry since he started, Skillin says,“ The first few years I was going, lobsters were much more abundant than they are now. Then it got pretty bad, but it has bounced back a little bit.” he strongly believes that this is due to global warming. He also adds what he’s noticed about the detriments of inflation. 

“The price of lobster has gone up pretty significantly this year and last year, but the cost for us has gone up even more. The price of bait is a huge problem. When I first started, a drum of pogies was around eighty or ninety dollars, and now they’re two-hundred to two twenty five.” 

I then asked Skillin what his thoughts and predictions are for the future of Maine lobstering. 

“I think this year has me a little more optimistic, but it is so variable. I think it’s going to be year to year for a while, where if we have a bad winter and a relatively dry spring, the lobstering will be better. Whereas if we have a warm winter and a really wet spring, it’ll be a little bit worse. And if they show up too early, they get here before the tourists. That’s when we get the really disastrous prices.” 

Continual increase in temperature every winter “seems to be the trend”, and if we don’t get a colder winter every couple years to break up the pattern, that is when the decrease in lobster catches will become really noticeable. 

“And this wouldn’t be a super short term thing.” Skillin says. “It would definitely take many years to reach a truly concerning point, but it’s something to keep in mind.”