Over time, fishermen have adapted to meet new rope requirements and conservation measures. They have adapted to technology, endured trap limits and still gone out to complete their often dangerous and tiring work. They have caught an astounding number of lobsters over the last 10 years but have seen sinking per-pound prices.
Managing the industry requires continuous adapting, as lobstermen and dealers know well. The latest challenge will be to grow demand to meet rising supply.
How will the industry reach more consumers? It will require marketing, more new and convenient lobster products and getting to more inland customers. But most important, a plan will require buy-in from all levels: fishermen, dealers, private businesses and local, regional, state and federal governments.
The mandatory v-notch program, requiring lobstermen to notch all egg-bearing lobsters before putting them back in the water, is one conservation measure that has helped grow the lobster population to record levels. Last year more than 100 million pounds of lobster were landed; in 2001 there were about 50 million pounds.
This year the situation was complicated by a glut of soft-shell lobsters early in the season. Canadian lobstermen also had a good early season, leaving processors in their country full and unable to take more lobster from Maine.
Maine fishermen therefore saw a low price of lobster due to excessive supply. For some, the price they would get for their catch would not pay for their costs of fuel, bait and wear and tear on a boat. Many people stayed home.
It’s not possible to tell whether the spike in early shedders was a chance occurrence or part of a trend, but it certainly raises questions about how to improve the industry to protect against such low prices.
Prices have declined: The 1981 price of lobster, adjusted to meet 2007 dollars, was $5.95 per pound, according to the Department of Marine Resources. In 2007, it was $4.75, a decrease of about 20 percent. The average price per pound in 2011, not adjusted for inflation, was $3.19.
The goal should be to get more lobsters and lobster products to people across the United States, and that will require more marketing, as the Maine Lobster Advisory Council is proposing.
But a marketing campaign has to be smart. It has to identify whether it’s going to target certain audiences like dealers or restaurants, and it should have a goal of improving the lobstermen’s bottom line. That means requiring everyone in the industry to chip in for the branding campaign and not relying too heavily on lobstermen to contribute. Figuring out who pays how much will require communication and collaboration.
People across Maine and the Northeast can help spread the word about lobsters, including lobster-related groups, tourism-related groups and stores. Lobster is a delicious, free-range protein with no additives or chemicals. The crustaceans come from a sustainable fishery and support thousands of independent Maine businesses (lobstermen). This should be an easy product for which to advertise.
The Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland, of which the BDN is a primary sponsor, serves as an example to follow. The event is promoted internationally and draws 40,000-50,000 people each year. It buys 20,000 pounds of local lobster to feed its festival goers, and the dates — this year it’s Aug. 1-5 — are picked to coincide with the time when there are a large number of shedders. The festival also adjusts the price of its cooked lobsters to account for the going rate. Last year the price of a single dinner was $14; this year it’s $12.
Another part of the solution will be to identify what consumers are likely to purchase and then getting them the product. Many people don’t want to handle live lobsters and would rather heat up lobster ravioli or lobster macaroni and cheese. Having more of those specialty, convenient, value-added products in the marketplace will provide expanded income for the industry.
Mainers — and tourists — should shop smart. When lobstermen are getting $2 per pound, don’t buy a $17 lobster roll. Support stores and restaurants that are able to sell more lobsters by offering more reasonable prices.
It would be beneficial for key players in the lobster industry to sit down together and determine whether or not there is enough buy-in to re-examine how the industry operates. If people are committed to making fundamental changes, they could examine all the issues that contribute to marketing and pricing. It would require fishermen and dealers to participate fully, in addition to the governor’s office and the Department of Marine Resources.
Lobstering is a vital industry for the state. Last year it brought in $331.4 million and supported the jobs of 5,000 licensed commercial fishermen and many more people in supportive, essential roles. It needs to be managed to adapt for growing catches to ensure people whose livelihoods depend on the lobster industry can continue to make a living.
As mentioned, a processed product to appeal to inland consumers is the solution to this problem. The world is running out of affordable wild seafood, this is a great opportunity.
What is so screwed up is the price we pay, there is a glut of lobster, so the men and women get almost nothing, the it goes to the buyera and he makes a little money, then you go out to dinner and it is the same twenty dollars for a lobster dinner, how can that be and why are we paying for it?
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When the restaurant paid all the cost on a $20 lobster meal, also the restaurant owner, when lucky is left with $2. It is not only the lobster price restaurant owners are paying. Hard shell is around $6.50 per pound not $2 (if there is someone out there charging $2 per pound for quality hard shell lobster please contact me immediately!). In addition we have to pay for chefs to prepare the lobster @$15 per hour if we are not paying overtime, all the other ingredients we are using, a server to bring the food out to the table, a dishwasher to clean the plate, rental of the restaurants space, insurance for staff and liability, chinaware, silverware, complimentary bread, complimentary water, computer systems, a full up to code commercial kitchen, electricity, water, gas, linen the list of cost is endless. It is not without reason that a restaurant goes out of business within a year, especially in Maine where business is so seasonal. Many lobster men tried to open up restaurants because they thought so much money is made, many failed. The few that survived are also charging $20 for a lobster meal because that is how you survive!
I understand you like to make more money and you should, but don’t tell people you shouldn’t eat at restaurants charging more for a lobster meal, you are killing your own industry by supporting this article. It is lacking of any knowledge and only written from a sensational point of view. I think people should not pay for BDN paper as they are overpaying for under qualified writers and editors. Advertisers please stop advertising in BDN as clearly they overcharge you if you consider how many people read this newspaper and how bad the content is!
Using your logic, and the same overhead, I guess a hot dog must cost about $14?
The Maine Lobster Promotion Council still stealing money from lobstermen , as they have since inception. They are always on point when it comes to what should be done, its time they are held accountable for some measure of success and/or non performance. If they are not capable or willing to get the job done, its time we spend our money hiring people who have the skill and/or desire to market Maine lobster in a manner to maximize its worth.
“Mainers — and tourists — should shop smart. When lobstermen are getting $2 per pound, don’t buy a $17 lobster roll. Support stores and restaurants that are able to sell more lobsters by offering more reasonable prices.”
This is the kind of drivel that gets written when writers fail to do their research. How many restaurants did the writers contact to get their take on the issue. They didn’t contact me and I’d be willing to bet they didn’t contact any.
My name is Vernon Baker and I own Papa J’s in Belfast. I have on my desk next to me, as I write, a bill from my shellfish supplier. On that bill are the prices paid per pound for a delivery made yesterday. The prices range from 6.50 to 6.95 depending on the size of the lobster. There’s also a little line item at the bottom that says fuel surcharge but the rising costs on so many other fronts is an issue for another post..
See here’s the deal. They’re hard shell. I only sell hard shell lobsters at this time of year because they provide the consumer and myself with the best product and the most satisfying experience. In a couple of weeks when shedders start to fill out we start buying them and offering those as well. In the mean time I buy hard shells live, we cook them, we pick them and the meat is used in all of our dishes including our $15 lobster roll, our $15 lobster stew and our $24 lobster pizza. Fresh, hard shell meat. I’ll put my products up against anyone’s and I’ve been in business for eight years in an area that has seen eight or more restaurants disappear in that time. We also serve them whole. We sell a one pound hard shell lobster for $17, fries, deep fried corn, butter and smiles included. According to the writers customers should avoid my place.
Instead of making blanket statements that leave readers, especially ones who might be tourists and have limited knowledge of lobsters, with the impression that every lobster is the same and therefore every lobster is being bought for $2.50 a pound, they would better serve their readers by educating them about lobsters and stay out of the restaurant business.