It was not a very happy “Lobster season” for the eastern Maine fishermen last year! The tourists flocked and the sea food was much in demand but this year, also the prices of the lobster haven’t surged up much, thus the lobstermen have seen a profit void.
Fall in lobster prices
The reports state that there has been very less change in the prices of the lobster since last year. This has prompted the community authorities to shift their lobster loyalty to other marine animals as well. They are encouraging the fishermen to deliver a huge haul of superior quality fish in exchange for a fair price.
This will result in the removal of the marine dams and permit endangered marine life to swim back to their original spawning grounds. So maybe the waters will soon be glimpsing the rare Atlantic salmon!
Last year saw the lobster price fall to about $ 2 a pound in certain areas and this year there is an extra supply of lobsters this season and the lobstermen from Eastern Maine to Canadian waters have seen a low price for the lobster. Anticipating a rise in the prices this year the fishermen communities were in for a disappointment as this delicious marine food available is sold at just about $2.20 a pound of lobster. About 8 years ago the average price of the lobster was noted as $4.63 a pound, the fall now is almost 50%.
Robin Alden, a fisheries management expert since years and former Maine commissioner of marine resources had his own tale to tell “Long term, that’s not a stable situation to have very few, other species and so much lobster.”
Look at alternative fish food
Carla Guenther, a fisheries science advisor for the Penobscot East Resource Center was heard stating “There’s a back load of product in this market. The stored supply (of lobster) is still high,” she stated. The lobsters are highly active from late June to late December, and the major harvesting of the lobsters is at this time though in the eastern Maine, they are available all the year around.
If a fisherman picks up a trip to gather a horde of lobsters they end up spending $ 500 , with a crew of one or two helpers. But to their disappointment the supplies are high and the rates very low, much contrary to their expectations. The lobsterman had expected that the supply would be limited and the price higher. The boat prices are also huge making it a scrunch on the profit of the lobsterman. So the fisheries management authorities feel its time to give the lobster dependence a new look.
Robert Steneck, a marine biologist at the University of Maine state that “As context, the economic diversity of marine resources harvested in Maine has collapsed nearly 70 percent.” In all this the excess supply has no effect on the hotels as they still serve this dish as a gourmet delight at high-end prices.
Cheryl Daigle, the community outreach coordinator of the nonprofit Penobscot River Restoration Trust plans another way and said “We’re working to restore an entire suite of native sea-run fisheries.”
