New Mass. Law Contributing To Shocking Price of Lobster

Summer is nearing and I want lobster! I better open up my wallet.

Lobster wasn't always a delicacy. Lobster in Massachusetts was at one time so plentiful that people thought nothing of the precious crustacean that it is today.

Before the late 19th century, lobster was reserved for the bellies of criminals, the poor, and slaves, as these crustaceans would wash up on New England beaches by the heaps. So, what happened to the lobster’s previously rubbish reputation as the “cockroach of the sea”?  -freshieslobsterco.com

The lobster supply in Massachusetts

New lobster harvest regulations are in place for 2025, where the size of a harvestable lobster has been increased to protect future lobster population. All female lobsters with eggs are also prohibited in both the commercial and recreational fisheries as well. The lobster supply is not what is used to be of the waters of the commonwealth. This is also due to climate change. The waters off of Massachusetts are getting warmer and the lobsters are migrating to the north towards Maine and Canada.

New Mass. Law and Climate Change leading to shocking lobster prices in 2025

Interstate fishery regulators, however, say the change is necessary to preserve the future of the lobster population off New England as the species shifts farther north with warming waters. 

It is also illegal to harvest jumbo lobsters more than a certain size to ensure protection.

The maximum size of lobster allowed to be landed from the offshore fishery (Area 3) and Outer Cape Cod will be reduced from 6 3/4” to 6 ½”. -mass.gov

Lobster prices in the summer of 2023 lobster ranged from $9 - $15 a pound.

As of March 21, 2025, Foster's Supermarket in Greenfield, MA, listed jumbo lobsters at $21.49 per pound. Yikes.

A lobster roll at Kelly's Roast Beef will cost you $31.00

Prices will vary depending on where you shop.