A university research program has been awarded funding from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to advance scientific research on the North American lobster (Homarus americanus). The Maine Sea Grant Program at the University of Maine received $2 million in funding from NOAA, to be spread over four years. Maine Sea Grant will use $1.4m of the grant to begin to administer its American Lobster Initiative competitive research competition. The remaining $600,000 is for second-year support for four previously announced North American lobster research awards led by the University of Maine, the Maine Department of Marine Resources and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. American lobster is among the nation's most valuable species, with NOAA data confirming that approximately 113m pounds of lobster, valued at $715m, were landed in the US in 2024.