The clawed lobster species Homarus americanus, found from Labrador to Cape Hatteras and managed across seven U.S. lobster conservation areas.
American lobster is the scientific and common name for Homarus americanus, the cold-water clawed lobster that supports one of North America’s most valuable fisheries.
This species anchors the site’s entire conservation model: fishery rules, habitat protection, climate risk, and right-whale gear changes all exist to keep lobster populations productive enough to support ecosystems and coastal economies.
NOAA describes the fishery as stretching from Maine to Cape Hatteras, while ASMFC manages the stock as Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank and Southern New England units because warming, recruitment, and harvest pressure now behave very differently across the range.
American lobster conservation faces a pivotal moment: the 2026 ASMFC Benchmark Stock Assessment found the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank stock has declined 34% since 2018 and overfishing is technically occurring, while southern New England populations remain at record lows. Here is what the science says about the challenges ahead and the conservation strategies that are working.
Lobsters are far more than a valuable fishery — they are keystone predators that shape kelp forests, control sea urchin populations, and drive nutrient cycling across benthic ecosystems. A 2024 meta-analysis in Proceedings of the Royal Society B found kelp forests support 2.4 tonnes of fisheries biomass per hectare annually, and lobster predation is a key mechanism preventing the collapse of these forests into barren urchin wastelands.