The Lobster Trap
The Global Fight for a Seafood on the Brink
A page-turning examination of how a multi-billion dollar industry creates enormous wealth and endless heartache, at a time when climate change, swings in the market, and greed are impacting fishermen’s livelihoods in new and dramatic ways.
Lobster has been a phenomenal success story, with a commercial fishery that has generated enormous wealth and fueled global appetites for one of the world’s most recognizable luxury foods. The great lobster boom that began in the 1990s has also led to violent fights over who has the right catch North America’s most valuable seafood, including for Canada’s Indigenous people who until now have been excluded from this industry. But overfishing and climate change are pushing lobster toward a cliff.
By 2050, it’s expected that warming…
Available for Pre-Order
$36.99
August 12, 2025
GREG MERCER is an investigative reporter for the Globe and Mail, where he writes in-depth stories about issues affecting the country, from the drone-spying scandal at the Paris Olympics to the deadly legacy of the coal mining industry. He was previously the Globe’s Atlantic Canada reporter, where he covered the worst mass shooting in Canadian history, and wrote about violent protests over a growing First Nations-run commercial lobster fishery. He’s also reported for the BBC, The Guardian, and the Toronto Star. His reporting has earned him multiple National Newspaper Awards and the Michener–Deacon Fellowship for Investigative Reporting. This is his first book.
