Therapists in Maine are treating more people for climate anxiety: 'What do you call a lobsterman when there are no more lobsters?'

• The Bangor Daily News reported more therapists in Maine are seeing clients for climate anxiety.
• Maine is highly reliant on its lobster industry, but the current lobster boom could end due to climate change.

The climate crisis is impacting all aspects of people's lives, from rising temperatures outsides, to food supply, to even the money in people's wallets. And it's particularly worrying Maine residents who rely on consistent climates for a living - and their identity.

Bangor Daily News - a Maine-based newspaper - reported on Monday that therapists in the state are seeing an uptick in clients dealing with "climate anxiety," or stress about the future related to climate change. Will Hafford, a clinical psychologist in Maine, told the paper that he conducted an informal survey of therapists and 63% of them reported working with clients around ecological stress on a weekly or monthly basis.

Given that the "Vacationland" state has a large tourism industry, many rely on the outdoors to make a living, especially when it comes to lobster. Lobster contributes half a billion dollars to the state each year, and it's a booming industry right now - but scientists predict that boom will not last, given the Gulf of Maine's rapidly warming water temperatures and the variability of the climate.

And the lack of uncertainty is taking a toll on people who work in the industry.

"As an example, working with a lobsterman who has noticed the impacts to the lobster fishery, this work involved talking about their distress over the changes as lobster move to colder waters, concern for their livelihoods, impacts to their occupational identity," Hafford said. "What do you call a lobsterman when there are no more lobsters or when they are [no] longer able to sustain their business?"

Carla Guenther, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries' Chief Scientist, told Insider that changes in temperature make it nearly impossible to predict what lobster supply will be, which makes it difficult for those in the profession to predict their success.

"So we'll have a super warm year that does some weird things to lobster. They'll shed early, or they'll shed more frequently in that year," Guenther said. "It may put stress on them so that the next year, if it's a warm year, they may not do the same thing."

The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of the worlds' oceans, and over past decades, the warming temperature has allowed for lobster to thrive - but only to a certain point. According to the National Resources Defense Council, lobsters thrive at temperatures between 61 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit, but once it hits 70 degrees, lobsters have little chance of surviving. In Maine, this could look like lobsters moving north in search of cooler waters.

To deal with the stress of uncertainty, Hafford stressed the importance of finding what Maine residents value in the natural world and taking action to help fight the impacts of the climate crisis.

And while climate change could happen quickly, when it comes to lobster, Guenther noted "that there's this inter-annual variability that is greater than what we ever experienced in the past."

"Climate change isn't going to be all one direction," she said.