BOOKLIST REVIEW of The Last Lobster

The Last Lobster: Boom or Bust for Maine’s Greatest Fishery?

After writing ‘Skipjack: The Story of America’s Last Sailing Oystermen’ (2009), White traveled the Maine coast in pursuit of a quintessential lobster town to use as base for his next project, an in-depth look at the state’s most significant fishery. Settling on Stonington, he took to the water with three different lobster captains to learn how they work and gain an inside look at this boom-or-bust industry. The figures are staggering. Though fishing accounts for only five percent of the Maine economy, it brings in $616.5 million. For the past five years, the lobster harvest has been enormous, exceeding 125 million pounds. Beyond all that, there is also the tourist allure of seaside villages where the lobsters may be long gone, but the aura of lobster fishing remains. White looks at everything from unionization and battles against the price-fixing of middlemen to the warming climate and rising real-estate prices. Lobsters are intrinsically linked to the soul of Maine, and White’s thoughtful chronicle gives both the highly desired marine crustaceans and the people who seek them their due.

May 2018