Sour economy pushes down Northeast lobster prices

LYNN – Adevastated national economy has sent Maine lobster prices spiraling downward as cash-strapped consumers cut back on seafood delicacies and fishermen wrestle with rising costs for bait and fuel.
With off-the-boat prices as low as $2.60 a pound this week, some lobstermen say they’re ready to pursue different careers. Some dealers bracing for the loss reportedly are suggesting the lobstermen set fewer traps, which would create artificial scarcity and likely push prices upward.
“This is the worst time for this to happen,” said Peter McAleney, owner of New Meadows Lobster in Portland, Maine, who has been asking lobstermen to haul fewer traps to limit the glut.
The wholesale price of Maine and Massachusetts lobster plunged by more than 20 percent in the past week, and some dealers contend an international credit crisis has effectively shut off orders from major processors in nearby Canada.
Last year, the average annual price paid to Maine lobstermen was $4.44 per pound, and even higher in Massachusetts. The boat price of lobster in Maine has not neared $2 a pound since 1980.
Mike Tourkistas, owner of East Coast Seafood, a massive Lynn-based lobster exporter, confirmed the demand has been weak. “Unfortunately, there’s a perception that lobster is expensive and only for festive occasions, that it’s really not a necessary part of our diet,” he said. “On the other hand, the new low prices are an opportunity for people who don’t usually eat lobster to try it.”
Local supermarkets were selling lobster at $4.75 to $4.99 a pound Thursday.
All along the northeastern seaboard, lobster was selling wholesale for $2.60 to $3. In Massachusetts, the average was $2.75.
“Up until this last decline, the prices off the boats have been $3.50 to $4 a pound, and higher here in Massachusetts,” said Tourkistas, whose company annually ships thousands of pounds of lobster ? both live and frozen ? to Russia, China, Japan and Europe.
“Lobster tails are one of the biggest products this time of year, especially from buyers like Red Lobster and the Outback Steakhouse. But some of these restaurants are experiencing slower food traffic, so they have adjusted their inventories and reduced their prices.”
Maine Marine Resources Commissioner George Lapointe said lobster prices are the lowest they have been in nearly 20 years. “Think about just the cost of living compared to two decades ago,” he said.
Although some Maine fishing industry advocates have called for state intervention through an emergency shutdown in an effort to stabilize prices, Lapointe said can shut down a fishery only in the case of a fish population collapse, not a market decline.
Tourkistas said the global economy is partly to blame. “Everything is connected today. A global market creates many opportunities, but when things go back, everything is affected that way too. But we remain cautiously optimistic. Everybody loves lobster, and now they can have it for the price of something that is not as desirable.”
Associated Press material was used in this report.