Maine lobster industry is stable… for now. It’s our neighbors to the south that should be concerned for the immediate future. We won’t be seeing this kind of impact until the middle of the century. The great news is that gives us plenty of time to prepare!

At this point we should be both supporting the lobster industry we have, but also encouraging it’s transition to new industries. Training programs for aquaculture have had a measurable affect in shifting lobstermen away from the field. As well, the 10 year plan put forward a couple years ago highlights a great way to partner with our universities to retrain our workforce and diversify our economy on the backbone of a new fishing and energy-based industrial sector. It would do wonders to both help prepare the hard working men and women who have supported our state for years transition and avoid the insane damage this snow crab die off will have on Alaskan families, as well as alter our energy consumption patterns to be more sustainable as we navigate this ever intensifying climate crisis.

So yes, while this shouldn’t be ignored. We shouldn’t make the lobstermen out to be the villains they are portrayed as being…. Yet.