The Lobster Trap

Portland Press Herald Audio

About the partnership

No news organization is more invested in the health of the Gulf of Maine and the region’s residents than the Portland Press Herald and The Boston Globe. So, as the gulf’s warming waters pose an increasingly existential threat to Maine’s signature industry, lobster, we joined forces to take a hard look at the climate crisis unfolding on our shores.

We descended on the island of Vinalhaven, one of Maine’s busiest fishing villages, and turned loose reporters, photographers and videographers from both news organizations to learn firsthand the challenges, stresses, and fears of those facing this uniquely perilous time for lobstering. The problems posed by the warming waters were sometimes subtle — the slow migration of whales and lobsters, the gradual rise in sea levels. The tensions and stakes were glaring. Climate change gravely threatens the nation’s richest fishery and the communities that depend on it.

The result is The Lobster Trap, presented here today. It is a story of a group of Mainers struggling to preserve their way of life in a rapidly changing world. It is also a snapshot of life on the front lines of a monumental crisis, no less than last summer’s western wildfires or the rise of extreme flooding events.

This collaboration was made possible by support from Participant, the company that co-produced the movie “Spotlight” and funds the Globe’s Spotlight Fellowship program. We are grateful for the continued support and hope that you, our readers, find this work illuminating.

Portland Press Herald Managing Editor Steve Greenlee and Boston Globe Editor Brian McGrory