Maine’s lobster industry finds itself squeezed on all sides amid Canada trade war

In Stonington, Maine, lobster fishermen and industry observers say the sector is being squeezed from multiple directions. A trade confrontation with Canada and discord within Congress are adding to a suite of challenges that already include higher operating expenses. Those cost pressures have been compounded by rising diesel prices, which sources attribute to the war with Iran. At the same time, warming ocean temperatures are prompting lobstermen to travel greater distances to find catchable stocks, increasing time at sea and fuel use. Together these forces are straining what many describe as a heritage industry for Maine's coastal towns. Operators face tighter margins as travel and fuel costs climb while policy and trade uncertainties make planning more difficult. Community leaders and fishery participants warn that the combination of international conflict, trade friction and climate impacts has left the lobster sector in a precarious position, with potential consequences for the local economies that rely on the fishery.