Economic diversity of Maine?s American lobster fishery

Maine's coastal communities critically depend on the American lobster fishery, which is now exposed to ocean warming. There is uncertainty about the future robustness of the stock and the economic performance of the fleet appears vulnerable. This research characterizes economic heterogeneity in Maine's fishing fleet using latent class stochastic profit frontier analysis. We explore the diversity of business models and examine how they are associated with the economic performance of the fleet in the prewarming period. The study uses unique firm-level data that capture the operational and economic information of the harvesters in the year 2010, the year before the reported environmental change in the Gulf of Maine. Our findings indicate that economic efficiencies differ based on their choice of business models and it was found that technical upgrades generally contribute to improved economic performance in the prewarming period. Reported societal benefits associated with employment levels have characterized the lobster production environment over firm-level efficiency. This research establishes a critically important baseline for future comparison and quantification of policy reforms within the US lobster fishery.

Automated summary

Maine's coastal communities heavily rely on the American lobster fishery, but it is now threatened by ocean warming. The future sustainability of the stock is uncertain, and the economic performance of the fishing fleet is at risk. This research analyzes the economic heterogeneity within Maine's fishing fleet and explores how different business models are associated with fleet performance. The findings suggest that technical upgrades can improve economic performance, but societal benefits and employment levels have also shaped the lobster production environment. This study provides a crucial baseline for future policy reforms in the US lobster fishery.