PORTLAND (WGME) – It's been a summer of controversy for Maine lobster, but this week, and especially on Sunday, it's a time to celebrate it.
This is Maine Lobster Week, and many restaurants are featuring the iconic crustacean.
Lobster is the most valuable catch in the country, but it's future is uncertain with new regulations and "red-listing" of the lobster casting a shadow over the industry's future.
Maine leaders and lobster enthusiasts say the science blaming lobster harvesting for right whale deaths is wrong, and the product is just as tasty and critical to Maine as ever.
Some restaurants, like David's in Portland, go big for the event, making a three-course lobster menu.
"It's a great week,” David’s Owner and Chef David Turin said. “It's fun. We get to do something a little different. We get to see a lot of visitors to the state who just want to eat a lot of lobster, so it's a lot of fun. It's great."
"We want to celebrate Maine lobster,” Marianne LaCroix of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative said. “We want people, we encourage people to go out and enjoy different forms of lobster. And we're also trying to educate people about what's going on in the fishery, and particularly the work that fishermen are doing to protect right whales."
If you're looking for one day in particular to celebrate, this Sunday is National Lobster Day, officially designated by an act of Congress.
In 2020, Maine lobstermen caught more than 96 million pounds of lobster, worth more than $400 million.