How easy (or difficult -- or worthwhile) is it to see employment on a lobster boat in 2026?

 


Short takeaway: From the point of view of someone looking for work on a lobster boat, 2026 is a year when the industry is still big money on paper, but crews feel the squeeze. Jobs exist, but they don’t pay like they used to, and you’re stepping into a fishery under pressure.

🦞 What it looks like from the deck in 2026

  • Boats are hauling less than they did a few years ago. Lower landings mean fewer pounds to split among the crew.

  • Fuel and bait costs are way up, so captains are watching every dollar. That can mean tighter crew shares or fewer days on the water.

  • Prices aren’t keeping up with inflation, even when the catch is good.

  • The Canada tariff hit hard—a lot of Maine lobster normally goes north for processing, and that market shrank overnight.

  • Some captains are cutting back: fewer traps, fewer trips, or hiring only one sternman instead of two.

⚓ But there is work

Even in a tough year, boats still need:

  • Sternmen who can haul, band, bait, and stack without complaint

  • Deckhands who show up sober, on time, and ready to work in any weather

  • Crew who can handle long days, heavy gear, and a captain who expects you to learn fast

If you’re reliable, strong, and willing to start at the bottom, you can still get hired. The trade isn’t collapsing—it’s just tight.

📍 Bottom line for someone seeking work

You can find a berth, but don’t expect big money your first season. Expect hard work, long hours, and a captain who’s watching expenses. If you stick it out, learn the ropes, and prove yourself, you can still make a living in the fishery—just not the easy money folks talk about from ten years ago.

If you want, I can help you shape this into a tighter blog-style draft or give it a bit of coastal voice.

image and some content AI-generated


post inspired by the forthcoming book, Maineiac (J. Ladd Zorn. Jr.)

Book Description:


An aimless alcoholic leaves his father's home in Los Angeles to follow the one woman who has shown him kindness after she relocates to Maine. His cross-country trip includes encounters with old friends, fleeting romances, and culturally revealing detours that force him to confront his own failures. In the coastal town of Camden, he finds work on a lobster boat and becomes part of a small community of locals. As he struggles with addiction and self-doubt, he tries to find the courage to tell the woman he loves how he feels, uncertain whether he deserves her or a better life.




Release date: January 12, 2027


CONTACT editor@msipress.com FOR A REVIEW COPY


MSI Press, a veteran-owned publishing house based in California, United States
best known for turning new writers into award-winning authors,
has gained mass recognition for releasing highly acclaimed books of varying genres
that are distributed internationally. Check us out on Wikitia.


To purchase copies of any MSI Press book at 25% discount,

use code FF25 at MSI Press webstore;

for free shipping, use code ship4free.

(Codes cannot be used together; they are meant to provide a choice of discount.)



Want to read an MSI Press book and not have to pay for it?
(1) Ask your local library to purchase and shelve it.
(2) Ask us for a review copy; we love to have our books reviewed.


VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OUR AUTHORS AND TITLES AND TO FOLLOW US ON OUR VARIOUS PLATFORMS.


CONTACT INFO@MSIPRESS.COM TO SBUMIT A BOOK PROPOSAL/MAMUSCRIPT OR TO CONTACT ONE OF OUR AUTHORS.



Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter: get inside information before others see it and access to additional book content
(recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, links to precerpts/excerpts, author advice, and more)

Check out recent issues.


 

   

MSI Press is ranked among the top publishers in California.
Check out our rankings -- and more -- HERE.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guest Post from Dr. Dennis Ortman: Words Matter

Image
  WORDS MATTER “If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging symbol.” --I Corinthians 13: 1   My three brothers recently visited from afar. We spent a week together crammed into my small apartment. We exhausted ourselves talking about our lives and our favorite subjects--religion, psychology, and politics. I daily used up my quota of words. Many family and friends avoid talking about these subjects to avoid conflict. But we relish the give-and-take of debate. Coincidentally, the Republican National Convention was televised each night. We watched it diligently and exchanged views. Our convictions ranged across the political spectrum. So our conversations were animated, our disagreements passionate. However, at the end of the week, we learned something from each other and parted friends. Words matter. They have power. Our traditions attest to this fact. For example, God created the world with His word. He be...
Read more

Tuesday's Tip for Language Learning: Language Islands, A Shortcut to Language Fluency

Image
  If you've ever found yourself struggling mid-conversation in another language, desperately searching for words, translating in your head, and praying for a merciful topic change… you’re not alone. We've all been there. But today’s tip might just change the way you approach language learning — and save your dignity at the next international gathering. Let’s talk about language islands . What Are Language Islands? Back in the mid-1980s, Boris Shekhtman, a brilliant and wildly successful instructor at the Foreign Service Institute (and later the Specialized Language Training Center), coined the term “language islands.” His students — diplomats, international journalists, and world travelers — swore by his methods. And no wonder. A language island is a memorized chunk of speech — a little monologue, a practiced story, a polished opinion — that you know so well, you can say it without thinking. No mental translation. No stuttering. No panicked flailing for vocabulary. Just smooth...
Read more

A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: De-confusing Royalty Structure

Image
  Authors frequently confuse LIST and NET and, in this way, end up with contracts that pay lower royalties when they believe that they are getting a good deal. Often, they cannot negotiate in ways that benefit themselves because they do not understand this difference and its significance. Let's break this down. List refers to the retail price of the book. Payment on list means a percentage of the retail price of the book. If royalties are 8% of list (5-8% is typical), then on a $10 book, royalties would be 80 cents; if they are 10%, royalties are $1, on every book sold. Easy to calculate, easy to predict income, and always standardized, no surprises or overestimations. Net refers to what is leftover after expenses. Gross revenue gets adjusted by a number of expenses: printing costs, printer set-up fees, shipping costs, handling fees, distributor percentage of sales (typically, 40%-55% per book), distributors' initial and continuing catalogue listing costs (without which online ...
Read more