Lobsterman Joe Grego handles lobster traps while unloading his boat Crazy Train with his son in Stonington on Tuesday afternoon. “We are hauling out the traps several weeks early this year because it’s not worth it to keep fishing in near-shore waters,” Grego said. With lobster prices at about $2 to $2.50, many fishermen who don’t have the federal license for off-shore fishing end their season early. The catch in the near-shore waters diminishes in the late season, and they say it doesn’t pay enough to keep fishing. Buy Photo
This year isn’t turning out to be one that members of Maine’s lobstering community will remember as one of their best.
And according to some, 2009 probably won’t be, either.
The global economic crisis recently has sent lobster prices tumbling to their lowest point in roughly 15 years, but that’s not the only challenge Maine’s $280 million lobster fishing industry has faced in 2008. There also has been a squeeze on the supply of herring, which most lobstermen use as bait; a state mandate for some lobstermen to report their catch; a looming federal deadline for switching to whale-safe rope; and a midsummer spike in diesel prices to nearly $5 a gallon.
If there have been any positive developments for the industry to be seen in 2008, it would be in recognizing how badly things could have ended up, but didn’t quite. The federal rope rule deadline that was to take effect last month ended up being pushed back to April 2009, and the price of diesel has fallen back to below $3 a gallon — although that is still more than a dollar higher than it was just a couple of years ago.
For motorists, the price of gasoline has fallen sharply over the past two months from more than $3.50 a gallon to around $2. The low price is approximately what gasoline cost before damage to oil industry infrastructure caused by Gulf Coast Hurricanes Katrina and Rita sent fuel prices soaring in late 2005.
But the recent steep decline in diesel prices likely will not be enough to help bail out the 2008 lobstering season, according to industry representatives. The cost of fuel may have come down from its unprecedented heights, they say, but the price for lobster is still too low. The last time lobstermen earned $2.50 a pound for their catch, which is around what many say they are being paid now, was in the early 1990s.
“It’s not making a difference,” Clive Farrin, a Boothbay Harbor lobsterman and president of Downeast Lobstermen’s Association, said Monday. “A year ago, we were getting around $4.25 [per pound]. I’m making less money [this year] with more lobsters.”
The decline in price has been traced to a lack of demand among Canadian seafood processors, which typically buy more than half of the annual lobster landings in Maine. The processors relied on banks in Iceland for their financing but lost much of it when Iceland’s top banks faltered last month in the global credit crisis.
Jack Merrill, a Cranberry Isles fisherman who is first vice president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said lower fuel prices make up only one piece among many in the lobster industry’s larger economic picture. Lobstermen can use 40 to 100 gallons of diesel a day, he said, which still adds up to a substantial fuel bill, and they continue to face high bait and labor costs.
“I can’t leave the dock without spending between $350 and $400, and I still have to pay my crew,” Merrill said. “I can’t make a living.”
Patrice McCarron, executive director of MLA, said Tuesday that though escalating fuel prices helped push up the price of all lobstering supplies, including bait and equipment, the current low fuel prices have not resulted in other costs coming down.
“It was really high for a while,” she said of diesel prices. “It certainly can’t hurt [that they’ve come down], but I don’t think it’s making fishermen profitable.”
This many fishing communities along the coast have organized and held special sales to help draw attention to lobster’s unusually low price and to provide fishermen with a needed boost in income. On Tuesday, a handful of state legislators and other officials held a press conference in Augusta to urge Mainers to buy lobster in-stead of turkey for Thanksgiving.
Farrin said a recent community lobster sale in Boothbay Harbor resulted in 6,000 lobsters being sold in five hours. These community events help draw attention to the poor economic climate, he said, but do little to compensate for the decline in sales to Canadian processors.
“You’d have to do something like that every week in order to make a dent,” Farrin said.
McCarron said such localized sales efforts can help some fishermen in the short term, but they cannot account for the sales volume needed for the industry to recover. The best solution, she said, is for the economy to rebound — which may not happen soon, she added.
Landings have been “pretty strong” this year, she said, and the health of the resource appears to be relatively good, but there’s no indication the economy is going to recover in the near future.
If lobstermen do end up with extra money to spend on equipment for next season, McCarron said, many likely will use it to buy sinking rope for their groundlines, which will be a federal requirement as of April 5, 2009. She said the cost and practicality of switching to more expensive sinking rope always have been a challenging prospect, even before the price of lobster tanked.
“I fully expect [the industry] will be reeling when we get going next spring,” McCarron said. “[The economy] is not something that I foresee turning around in a few months.”
In a move that some fishermen say could lead to greater regulatory burdens on lobstering, state regulators for the first time this year randomly picked approximately 850 licensed lobstermen, representing about 10 percent of the licensed lobstermen in Maine, to file detailed monthly fishing activity reports with the state Department of Marine Resources. State officials have said the information is necessary for regulators to keep track of how much fishing effort is involved in the state’s annual lobster landings.
Industry officials said that while landings have been respectable this year, they may end up lower than they were in 2007, when 63 million pounds of lobster with a total value of $280 million was caught in Maine. That catch represented a 16 percent drop in volume and a 10 percent drop in value from 2006, when fishermen caught 75 million pounds of lobster and sold it for nearly $312 million.
Merrill said that with low lobster prices, many lobstermen are less enthusiastic about braving November’s cold winds and 15-foot seas. He said about half of those who fish from the Cranberry Isles already have taken in their gear for the winter, even though in recent years November typically has been one of the industry’s most lucrative months.
“I think everyone is less motivated,” he said. “It’s a dangerous job. It’s a tough job.”
Farrin said he usually brings his gear in during the fall and starts doing carpentry work onshore to get through the winter. This year, he said, he hasn’t been able to line up carpentry work, so he is going to keep fishing as long as he can, low prices or not.
He estimated that, with typical November and December weather, he’ll be able to get in about a week’s worth of fishing by the end of the year.
“You’ve got to go out tomorrow and take your licking,” Farrin said. “2008 certainly will be a year to remember, especially the last few months.”
On 11/19/08 at 7:30 AM,
bigfootinheels wrote:
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the state should take care of these guys........
On 11/19/08 at 7:47 AM,
MurphyL wrote:
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Why not a bail out for the fisherman?
On 11/19/08 at 7:58 AM,
Bangorian wrote:
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It seems clear to me that there are too many people trying to make a living off this industry, which is affected by the downturn in the economy. Rather than have the State bail them out, I think we should help to move them into other professions.
On 11/19/08 at 8:01 AM,
averagejoe wrote:
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Unfortunately, there's an adage that goes, "you made your bed". When times were lucrative, I don't believe you would have seen many of the fisherman sandbagging their revenues rather spend, spend, and spend. It's hard to depend on a fishery that needs people to say, "I need a lobster". No one needs a lobster and with the ripple effects of the entire mess associated with the economy, we've got yet another problem in coastal Maine. Racking up thousands of dollars a month in new home mortgages, one ton pick-ups, and buying new boats really wasn't being conservative. I realize that not all lobsterman have gone off the deep end in debt, but quite a few have fallen victim to the "grasshopper and the ant" syndrome. Here's the catch with the lobster industry, there is no certainty with a critter on the bottom of the ocean. Reassess, refigure, and retool. If fisherman are as hardy as we believe, they'll do their best to find a way...
On 11/19/08 at 8:12 AM,
LincolnMOM wrote:
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Business owners have to plan ahead for high and lows...it is called a BUSINESS PLAN. Especially a business of this nature....so stop complaining and be thankful the fuel prices did go down. You have to re-evaluate your priorities and possibly change the way you are doing things if they don't work. I
On 11/19/08 at 8:20 AM,
dwwagg wrote:
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The shrimping industry in Florida is under the same set of conditions. High fuel costs, and lowered demand does not equal a good fishing season. Our local shrimping industry has been in a steady decline for years now. We once had 15 or so local fishermen, now we are down to 2-3 and they only go part-time and then only when other work isn't available.
On 11/19/08 at 9:42 AM,
rebbie wrote:
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Lobstering is a very important industry for the State of Maine. Yes, lobstermen are businessmen and need a sound business plan like all businesses do. For those that think that lobstermen should stop complaining...why shouldn't the State help, or any avenue help for that matter? The State is there when a mill shuts down, or when any business falls on hard times. Where were those sound business plans? The lobster industry employs thousands of Mainers, and is worth 1 billion dollars to the State economy. Yes, I said 1 billion! It is 300 million to the fishermen right off the boat. The boats, trucks and other business expenditures are tools that are needed to run a business just like any other. For those that have no "sympathy" for one of the largest industries in the State...then why do we help out the banking crisis in this country...why help out the auto industry, and heaven forbid, if you lose your job, then why help out you?!
On 11/19/08 at 10:03 AM,
averagejoe wrote:
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If banks and our government hadn't been so eager to think that everybody had the right to home, thus inflating the value of those homes, thus increasing equity and more credit backed by credit, thus inflating the bubble until it popped, then maybe things would be different. But they are not, reassess, retool, and refigure, we can't bail everyone out unless we do it for ourselves first...
Lobsters are only as good as the economy, many fisherman are good at catching lobsters but bad with a checkbook...
My truck paid for, my boat paid for, my mortgage manageable, my credit cards cut up, proper business management- priceless
On 11/19/08 at 10:03 AM,
Adelaide wrote:
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It's easy to be an armchair critic (LincolnMOM, averagejoe), but heed the old saying "don't judge lest you've walked a mile in someone else's shoe's..." (or something like that).
How do you plan for diesel to go from $1.00ish in 2000 to $5.00ish in 2008? How do you plan for bait going from $10.00 - $12.00 to $38.00+ in the same period? How do you plan for the dock price going from $4.00+ to $1.75? (With talk of it going to $1.50 next week and possibly lower.)
For the most part the older fisherman haven't gone hogwild, God forbid they buy a seaworthy boat (being fiscally responsible it's still at least $200,000; an engine - anywhere from $40,000 to $60,000+).
I feel the problem is too many "part-timers"(people who make the majority of their money with land jobs, often with benefits), they out number the full timer's (people's whose sole income comes from the sea). And they get as much say in the industry (which isn't right in my opinion).
Then you have Canada, while they fish "seasonally" they still get to land EVERYTHING, big and small, and when their season opens creating a massive glut on the market. And they control the processing part of the industry.
What I still can't understand is how can the boat be getting $1.75 but in stores around the country the price is $18.99 and up? Someone is making money but it isn't the men and women risking their lives everyday they step foot on their boats.
On 11/19/08 at 10:11 AM,
Islander111 wrote:
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I strongly believe that some type of aid is needed for lobstermen. There are so many communities along our coast that are based upon this fishery, if they don't get some help, there are going to be far too many people going without basic needs this winter. Why is it that farmers get government help if and when they have a bad harvest and fishermen get nothing throughout a hard season? Looking at the other article's and comments, people believe that fishermen are "whiners" and need to "buck up and stop complaining!" What right to these people have to pass judgement? They sleep in until 6, 7 or maybe even noon, maybe go to work for 8 hours, come home and have a nice warm dinner and sit in front of the TV. These men are getting up at 1, 2, 3 in the morning and going out all day in the cold and rough seas just to try to make ends meet and carry on a family legacy of fishing that's more then 7 generations deep. Alot of these men and women don't even get home until 7, 8 , 9 o'clock at night during the winter because the weather only allows them to go so often, so they have to make it pay some how. They don't complain, they go to haul with broken bones, pneaumonia and torn ligaments because they are "self-employed" and cannot file unemployment. Lobsters supply most of the income for this state, if the industry goes down, our state will be even worse off than it is now.
On 11/19/08 at 10:15 AM,
Islander111 wrote:
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"Averagejoe" - The prices of home on the coast are so outrageous because summer people are coming and buying homes and land for astronomical prices and also building MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR vacation homes that they stay in for less than a month a year, forcing many younger people to leave communites that they grew up in and love because they cannon afford to live there.
On 11/19/08 at 10:20 AM,
averagejoe wrote:
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Islander111, Correct, my kids don't attend the same school as I did, I love my community and work there but can't live there...
On 11/19/08 at 12:41 PM,
RedHandOfUlster wrote:
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The supermarkets here in the South are certainly making a pretty penny for their $15-$18 per pound Maine lobsters. It should be the lobstermen making the larger profit, not the supermarkets that triple the price after buying them for $2-3 a pound. I hope help comes to the lobstermen and their families before it is too late.
On 11/19/08 at 1:40 PM,
kylie00 wrote:
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If you can`t make a living fishing then get out. Why is it everyone is looking for a hand-out. The ones that you expect to bail you out are the taxpayers who are wondering how the are going to pay all their bills and heat their own homes. And maybe take the kids to McDonalds once a month. They sure aren`t sitting down to lobster ever week. Simply because it`s just to expensive.You can but a good T-Bone or porterhouse for less then a lobster, and aren`t throwing over 1/2 away because it isn`t edible. The taxes in Maine are way to high now and you are holding you hand out wanting them to go even higher. If all the small fishermen closed up there would still be lobster in the stores, only large companies would be catching them. Maybe they could hire the ones that quit.
Granted it is hard work and something I don`t care to do ( hard work is ok but fishing just isn`t for me ) This industry is the same as the mill workers, looking for the state to bail them out too
On 11/19/08 at 2:05 PM,
Adelaide wrote:
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And what pray tell do you recommend them to do kylie00? When the country isn't in recession Maine still has one of the worst business climate's in the country.
I think you are forgetting one little detail. The lobster industry and the lobstermen themselves have been paying taxes. It generates a great deal of revenue for the state of Maine as well. Boat yards, fuel companies, electronics, engines, hydraulics, traps, rope, down to carpenters, car dealers, retail stores, grocery stores and the list could go on and on.
On 11/19/08 at 2:05 PM,
Islander111 wrote:
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Well Kylie, if you, or someone in your family gets laid off and file for unemployment, I'm paying for it with taxes. Fishermen pay taxes too, like with all careers, Im sure that there are probably some who tend to "fib" on the tax forms, but that happens everywhere. What about all the people at restaurants that are "paid under the table"??
If they cant do fishing, what are they suppose to do? They live in FISHING communities where there are no other options and the cost of moving is just out of the question. At this point its a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" type of a situation.
On 11/19/08 at 3:10 PM,
bendover wrote:
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Must of missed the part of the story where they were asking for hand outs.Don't think that i have read that anywhere.
On 11/19/08 at 3:30 PM,
kylie00 wrote:
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well when I did get laid off there was no handouts coming this way, there was no retraining. It was called get out there and pound the pavement and find a JOB even if you don`t find the right one you like at least your not depending upon others to support you. Back in the old days you didn`t beg the state because your family was there to help. Well maybe that is what they need to do, ask their families but they will probably help for awhile then tell them to pound the pavement looking for work or relocate and find a job. It`s time to live within our means and not over our heads. And if you know people who are cheating on their taxes turn them in, or I`d be glad to. The service lobstermen provide is not a neccesity of everyone`s life, it is a for a few people that can afford it and actually like it
Hand made wooden wagon wheels were in demand at one time, now people have rubber tires. That craftsman went out of business and found another job.
they need to take the current situation and deal with it on their own or find another proffession. It`s not the taxpayers fault if they over extended themself.
On 11/19/08 at 4:42 PM,
rebbie wrote:
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Hey kylie00...where has it ever been said that the fishermen are looking for a hand-out? Who has asked for a "bail out"? I take your words to mean that this country doesn't need unemployment benefits (that would help, we wouldn't need to know what the unemployment rate is) or social security benefits, or medicaid for those on social security, or any program to help those in need. The lobster industry has helped the Maine economy survive for the last decade. Watch out now. You think the State cutting 150 million from the budget is bad, wait until the State goes under as well. By the way, I will "pound the pavement" for a job..you have one for me..I'm one of those lobstermen that has had a poor season. And by me, lobster is cheaper than cold cuts at the deli
On 11/19/08 at 6:48 PM,
unityme wrote:
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The fisherman work pretty hard and I wouldn't want their job. Thank goodness we have them though...just like our farmers. I sure would love to buy a bunch of lobsters right now but don't know any of the private lobstermen. The stores still have them marked up quite a bit.
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