PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 19, 2025
Maine is hoping Europeans will once again find a place for its lobster on their Christmas tables to offset dismal sales, with the value of year-over-year exports to the European Union down about 42% through September. Dealers blame the lackluster sales on a combination of factors: a declining catch, the rising price of getting the lobster to market and international trade volatility. In 2017, the first year the U.S. lobster industry was hobbled by the Canadian trade differential, 19% of Maine’s Christmas exports went to Europe; last December, without that tariff handicap, 62% went to Europe.