It is a testament to the work of the Maine seafood industry – from the fishermen to the marketers – that you rarely hear someone pining for a Canadian lobster or a Massachusetts lobster. They have done a good job associating our state with its signature crustacean. In fact, they may have done too good a job.
Lobster prices have reached historic lows this summer. In some cases, the lower cost is being passed on to the consumer, with restaurants offering a handful of steamed lobsters for the price of a good steak. In just as many places, however, a lobster roll still approaches $20.
Either way, it’s likely the out-of-staters who buy up most of Maine’s lobster won’t notice. Eating lobster is part of the vacation experience, and a few bucks either way isn’t going to make a difference to most tourists. Getting people to eat Maine lobster in Maine is not the problem. The trick is getting them to eat it the rest of the year.
The price of lobster is so low this year because of a glut of soft-shell lobsters, likely due to warmer waters that had the lobster shedding their hard shells earlier. Soft-shell lobsters don’t ship as well as their hard-shell counterparts and thus have less value.
“It’s supply and demand and there is an oversupply of a perishable product,” said Robert Bayer, executive director of the Lobster Institute, a U.S. and Canadian organization based at the University of Maine that monitors the lobster fishery.
The surge in supply and resulting drop in prices has made it hard for lobstermen to make a living. Many say they simply cannot catch enough lobsters in a day to make a profit.
“The price of lobsters is down, but the price of bait and everything doesn’t fluctuate,” said Tom Bennett, a 35-year-old lobsterman from Freeport. “You still have to pay the same amount for bait and fuel and your help. They don’t want to take a hit because the price is down. If you get two barrels of pogies and a barrel of redfish, you’re talking about $400 of bait on your boat before you even start, then you put $100 of fuel in, then you’ve got a helper on there for $100-$125. You do the math, you’ve got about $600 (invested before you go out),”
“There’s never been anything like this, ever,” said Bayer. “It’s creating hardship, with low prices, your fuel price isn’t changing and your bait price isn’t changing, (fishermen) may have boat payments. It’s pretty tough.”
Much has been made of the lack of lobster processing in Maine, which forces lobster to be shipped to Canada. That should be remedied. The value added to Maine lobster through processing should be done in state, and processing plants would bring new jobs. But adding processing capability is only a small part of pushing up demand.
The focus should be on making lobster more of a staple, an effort that is already under way. Lobster as an everyday meal can be intimidating. It needs to be packaged in a way that is easy to use, and as part of recipes that are easy to make: lobster macaroni and cheese, lobster stew or lobster in pasta come to mind, or even lobster pizza.
Lobster should also be marketed for its significant qualities outside of taste. At a time when seafood lovers are concerned about the future of fish like bluefin tuna, lobster is a sustainable fishery, as evidenced by the rising catch counts. It is also a source of quality protein.
Maine should lead the way on this initiative, so that in summers to come, vacationers who leave here with an appetite for lobster can fill that hunger at home, as well.
Ben Bragdon, managing editor
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