Are There Lobsters On The Oregon Coast? (The Sad Truth)

I was babysitting my nieces the other day, and their latest cartoon obsession (which seems to change every two weeks) is Garfield and Friends—the late-’80s version, not the new one. Conveniently for me, the entire first season is free on YouTube.

We ended up watching the episode where Jon gets gifted a live lobster from Maine. Naturally, Garfield adopts it as a pet instead of eating it, and the whole gang ends up flying across the country to return “Thermie” to the Atlantic Ocean. Cute, right?

Later that afternoon, my nieces asked their dad to take them to Astoria to “find a lobster and let it go.” My brother-in-law gave me a look like, what did you do? and then gently told them that no, there probably weren’t any lobsters hanging out on the beaches of the Oregon Coast.

Which of course led to a discussion about why that is.

I realized I didn’t actually know. I mean, the Pacific has everything a lobster should like—cold water, rocky sea floors, kelp forests to hide in. So why don’t we have lobsters here?

Do Lobsters Live on the Oregon Coast?

The short answer: no, not naturally. There are no native or wild populations of true lobsters (the kind with big claws you find in the Atlantic) along the Oregon Coast—or anywhere else in the Pacific Northwest, for that matter.

The closest relative you’ll find is the California spiny lobster, which is a clawless species that ranges as far north as Monterey Bay, California—roughly 700 miles south of Astoria.

So what’s stopping them?

Why Don’t Lobsters Live Here?

It mostly comes down to temperature and reproduction.

While the Pacific Ocean certainly has cold water and plenty of rocky habitat, it turns out it’s a little too cold—at least in the wrong way. The Atlantic Ocean is warmed by the Gulf Stream, which keeps water temps more stable and creates favorable conditions for American lobsters (Homarus americanus), even in places like Maine.

The Pacific Northwest, on the other hand, is affected by the California Current, a cold upwelling that brings in deep, nutrient-rich water. It supports a different kind of marine life, but it’s not ideal for the lobster reproduction cycle. Even if adult lobsters can survive, they can’t reproduce successfully in large enough numbers to maintain a population.

Have They Ever Tried Introducing Lobsters to the Pacific?

Surprisingly, yes.

Between the early 1900s and the 1960s, there were a number of attempts to introduce Atlantic lobsters to the Pacific Northwest. In British Columbia alone, nearly 5,000 adult lobsters were placed in carefully chosen coastal areas that mirrored their native habitat.

Similar experiments happened along the coasts of Washington and Oregon.

The result? A bit of a mystery. The lobsters did survive—for a while. But they didn’t reproduce enough to create a self-sustaining population. Over time, they simply disappeared.

What Went Wrong

The exact reasons those introductions failed aren’t fully understood, but scientists have a few educated guesses:

• Water temperature: The Pacific’s cold-water cycle may interfere with the cues lobsters need for mating or molting.
• Photoperiod: Differences in daylight timing could affect their reproductive cycles.
• Predators: The Pacific Northwest is home to huge populations of Dungeness crabs, which are known to prey on both juvenile lobsters and lobster eggs.
• Egg survivability: Even if eggs were laid, the odds of them hatching and growing to adulthood in crab-infested waters were slim.

Basically, the lobster’s entire lifecycle—especially the delicate baby stages—just didn’t stand a chance here.

Wait, What About California Lobsters?

This is where it gets interesting.

California does have spiny lobsters (Panulirus interruptus), which look very different from their Atlantic cousins. They’re bright orange-red, lack front claws, and rely on their long antennae and hard shells for defense.

They live in warm, rocky reef environments from Baja California up to about Monterey Bay. But that’s their northern limit—once the water starts getting colder, they vanish.

So yes, there are lobsters on the West Coast—but not the kind you’re probably picturing in a lobster roll. And definitely not in Oregon.

But Haven’t Lobsters Been Caught Here Before?

Every once in a while, someone reports catching a lobster off the Oregon or Washington coast. But these are almost always traced back to one of two things:

1. Accidental aquarium releases by well-meaning (but misguided) people.
2. Lobsters tossed overboard from seafood markets or boats.

They’re not wild or native. Just very lost.

So Can You Catch Lobsters in Oregon?

Nope.

You won’t find wild populations, and there’s no recreational or commercial lobster season in Oregon. If you see lobster on a menu here, it was flown in—usually from Maine, sometimes from California.

That said, if you’re into coastal foraging, the Oregon coast is full of delicious alternatives: Dungeness crab, razor clams, mussels, and rockfish are all abundant and sustainable (with the right permits, of course).

Final Thoughts (and a Reality Check for My Nieces)

While the Oregon Coast might not have lobsters, what it does have is some of the richest marine ecosystems in the world. Sea lions, puffins, whales, tide pools full of alien-looking creatures – it’s a dream if you’re into ocean life. Maybe just not the dream if you’re into eating ocean life (although there are options in that realm too).

Still, I don’t think my nieces are going to be satisfied with a sushi roll named “Thermie.”