PORTLAND, Maine — A lobster promotion group is launching a campaign that will include promotions at retailers, restaurants and other places in Maine and New England.
The Maine Lobster Promotion Council says its Lobster Lover Campaign will kick off in August and include contests and giveaways.
Executive Director Dane Somers said with such an abundance of lobster on the market, the campaign is designed to encourage consumers to eat more lobster.
A glut of lobsters this spring and summer has driven down prices for consumers. Lobstermen have been hurt by low prices they’ve been getting for their catch, prompting many of them to stop fishing until prices go back up.
Why? So that lobstermen can raise the prices again to a level that many of us cannot afford?
It isn’t the lobstermen that make the real money retailing this product. It is the brokers and the retail outlets. The lobsterman currently makes about $1.50/lb but we pay $4/lb. So the people handling the lobster skim $2.50 off the top. Blame them, not the folks who actually do the work.
The lobstermen should find a new outlet for their lobster, it seems that no matter what the boat price is, the grocery stores keep the price the same until they rot in the tank and THEN they have a sale of lobster that Tastes like &*&^ .
Yes I agree….because I’m one of them that does the work!
There is NO such price to fisherman as 1.50 a lb. That is the base price. All fisherman are getting at least 2.10 a lb. or better with their bonus, but 1.50 is all they will admit to. Does anyone realize how many of these creatures are dying at the shore or in transit and how many credits there are for dead lobsters are taken from the end customer? If this keeps up all dealers will be out or business by the end of the summer and then where will the fisherman be? Watch the Quality of what you bring in. Then you may be able to get more money.
Dealers make so much that alot of shrinkage will not even touch them.
That’s not true with a glut of lobsters on hand.Where is your commen sence? When ther is an oversupply for the demand that we have, no-one makes money. Lobsters are perishable items .
They tend to do what has always made sense in that situation, which is to go ahead and cook them before they become fertilizer and use the cooked product to sell by the pound, by the roll, in soup or stew. I also hear that there is a pretty good bartering system in most lobstering communities.
Did you know that it was against FDA regulations to cook dead lobsters and with so many deads you’d get a hefty fine which would put you right out of business.
Shoot I still can’t afford them now.
What can you afford then? Lobster is cheaper than deli meat.
You have to buy them shell and all , last time that I bought roast beef at the deli they didn’t charge me for the cows holves!
My bad. It’s the same price as roast beef once you factor in the shell ;)
Find me a place where I can by fresh picked lobster meat for 7 bucks a pound and I’ll buy it all.
Oh come on, where is the fun in that?
Okay maybe I misspoke. I could afford lobster but I prefer to get the most out of my dollar when I’m grocery shopping. Eating more lobster is not the way to do that. For the record though there are plenty of people out there who can’t afford to by their meat at the deli counter either. Just sayin
Yeah, I understand. It’s hard and even harder if you have a big family to feed. I think lobster is nice to treat yourself to once and while though, especially considering how it helps out locals in this state who are working very hard to make a living too.
Cheaper than chicken!
Don’t lobsters eat all the garbage off the bottom of the ocean? Why would I want to eat those scavengers? I would rather eat the big fish that eat the little fish.
And the little fish eat that “garbage” too. Either way, you’re getting “garbage.”
A pure myth. Lobsters will eat fresh fish the same as you and I. They are not bottom feeders of garbage. They prefer fresh food but usually will eat the gills and guts of a fresh fish first, even they know which part is most nutritious for them. Ask a lobster-man if he uses rotten bait. when the bait goes sour the fishing is done for the day.
Rotten bait is best for soft shells.
A remark like that just confirms to me you have never set foot on a “real”lobster boat.
Have been doing it for thirty-three years. They want rotten bait now. Love the fresh bait in the spring but once the shedders show up you need old bait.
I personally do not need to be encouraged to eat more lobster meat……love it!
Steak rules. A nice marbled rib-eye on kingsford of coarse.
LOL!! I do agree….I eat far more steak that shellfish….nothing wrong with a good piece of chicken or pork grilled up either….anyhow, with the lobster prices down and the hot temps, boiling up some on the outdoor burner seems to be a good alternative…..let me know when you are grilling and I’ll be over…..
If only I could get an EBT card I would eat lobster alot! MMMMMM
Great idea, but had better get the grocery stores to cut their prices. Just was in a Shop & Save this morning …………………. $7.00 each (did look like 1 1/4#), but still around $5.60 a pound.
the price has to come down first for me to eat any lobster. At $8.99, $9.99 and $10.99 a lb there’s no way I would buy one
What a farce. Yeah I am going to pay $10 per pound from Wally World because some fool on TV tells me to bail out Rich Lobster men. Guess no new pickup trucks this year boys. There are over 60,000 Mainers out there who can’t afford electricity, forget about heating oil.
There are going to be a lot more Mainers who can’t afford electricity and heating oil if the lobstermen go broke and don’t support the rest of Maine’s economy.
Jeff get real. Last year the fuel price was too high for the Lobster men. The year before that, the bait price was too high for the Lobster men. The year before that the price was too cheap for the Lobster men. These guys are professional criers nothing more. After you cry wolf so many times even the sucker customers stop buying. You are lucky to get 30% meat from a shedder, 70% is shell, waste and water. The shedder VALUE price per pound of edible meat is just about right. You don’t like to fish then sell your traps and boat and get out. I DID !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It doesn’t matter if they are professional criers or not, they are a huge part of Maine’s economy.
This explains it all. A wanna be…
I was alway told stupid people made stupid comments——–^ STUPID!
Still mad about the lobsterman who took you wife.
lobsters are boiled alive..they feel pain
if you eat lobster,karma will come around in your next life
enjoy
lobsters can’t feel pain anymore that a carrot. Get a clue.
Not if you kill them first. It actually makes the meat more tender that way.
I hope it comes around with butter and some lemon. Seriously though, there are ways around that if you don’t happen to be Rastafarian.
Lobster should be a specialty item. It’s the best way to ensure the continued feasibility of the fishery but Lobstermen (and women) are getting screwed right now.
I’d rather pay six or seven bucks a pound off the boat and know that the people on the boat are making a decent living than pay four bucks a pound at the grocery store or elsewhere knowing that the person who harvested them is going broke. To that end, maybe they should cut out the middle and set up dockside and streetside co-ops where people can buy direct. We already have a few roadside fish-mongers. Lets get more. Anyone know where we can get lobster straight off the boat?
Pretty much any port in Maine I am sure a lobsterman would sell ya some
Are you going to keep them alive? I can see every fisherman trying to sell his 2000lb. catch at the end of the day. What is the population of Hancock and Washington counties? and how many fisherman are there?
Who gets that much in a day? Seems like for every three-quarter-million dollar boat out there, there are a half dozen or more guys out in sixteen foot whalers with a pot-hauler and a prayer hoping for the best. Yeah, not that simple on an individual level but definitely possible as a co-op. Ever been to Seattle’s Pike Place Market? A waterfront warehouse where fish are dropped off to be sold by the fishmongers at street level (more touristy now). Tons of daily product on ice to be bought wholesale and retail alike.
Restauranteurs, general public and retail fish/seafood vendors go there daily or semi-weekly to pick up what they need. Can/could be reached by foot, by vehicle and by boat. Great scenario for a place like Maine.
Why sell low to a distributor or chain establishment when you could belong to a co-op of Lobstermen who set their own prices and sell at multiple levels? As an organization, they would have the collective power to purchase decent/more affordable insurance and advertise, among other things. The image of an organization that is owned by and that represents honestly such a key part of Maine’s identity would be very appealing to locals and tourists alike. Just makes sense. Lets face it, only the GOP actually WANTS to screw the little guy.
This sounds great, but you have to remember Maine on the down-east level does not have the population to support this. When a co-op has 400 crates of lobsters on one given day ,how could they possibly keep them all alive. You do not bring shedders in on a hot humid day because it sucks the life out of them. When they sweat there hours are numbered. These shedders are just not strong enough for that and the boats have to handle them better. Let me tell you something, it’s not just the GOP ,all politicians are only out for themselves. That’s why we are having an economic meltdown.
I noticed the sign at Jesse’s Market in Rockland advertising cooked lobster for $5 each
Don’t care for lobster at all, so I won’t be eating more of it, even if you paid me to. Give me a good swordfish, shark or steak instead.
I love lobster…and I’ve been eating it…support your neighbor, support community!
Cut out the middle guy and tell us where to get the lobster off a boat where I know its fresh and helps the lobster men.