Why is lobster so cheap ( $3.99 /lb) ?

[Doug]

It can't be much fun fishing in Maine/ Nova Scotia ( sp) in the winter months.

A pound of lobster and a gallon of gas are close to identical in price.

I doubt this was the case in say the 70's ? The lobster was still probably $4 ?

I'm almost getting sick of eating it.

They used to feed it to slaves a couple of hundred years ago.

[Doug]

Lobstering History

lobster traps and buoys

Long ago, lobsters were so plentiful that Native Americans used them to fertilize their fields and to bait their hooks for fishing. In colonial times, lobsters were considered "poverty food." They were harvested from tidal pools and served to children, to prisoners, and to indentured servants, who exchanged their passage to America for seven years of service to their sponsors. In Massachusetts, some of the servants finally rebelled. They had it put into their contracts that they would not be forced to eat lobster more than three times a week.


lobster boats and traps






Until the early 1800s, lobstering was done by gathering them by hand along the shoreline. Lobstering as a trap fishery came into existence in Maine around 1850. Today Maine is the largest lobster-producing state in the nation. Though the number of lobstermen has increased dramatically, the amount of lobsters caught has remained relatively steady. In 1892, 2600 people in the Maine lobster fishery caught 7,983 metric tons; in 1989, 6300 Maine lobstermen landed 10,600 metric tons of lobster.

Smackmen first appeared in Maine in the 1820s because of increased demand for lobsters from the New York and Boston markets. Smackmen were named after their boats, a well smack. Smacks were small sailing vessels with a tank inside the boat that had holes drilled into it to allow sea water to circulate. The smacks were used to transport live lobsters over long distances.



The first lobster pound appeared on Vinalhaven in 1875 and others quickly followed. Lobster pounds work in the same manner as the smack boats. The lobsters are kept in tanks with water passing freely through them. The first lobster pound was in a deep tidal creek, but today they are more common on docks floating in the harbor. Using the pound, dealers can wait for the price of lobster to increase or allow a newly-molted lobster time to harden its shell.

By the 1930s, the traveling smackmen were being replaced by local, land-based buyers who served as the link between the harvesters and the public.Purchasing lobsters at dockside
The buyer purchased lobsters from a harvester who in turn bought fuel, bait, and other gear from the buyer. The local buyer then either sold the lobsters to people who came down to the docks or turned them over to a regional dealer who sent the lobsters out of state.






In response to demand for lobster that exceeded the range of the smack boats, lobsters were canned beginning in 1836. The Burnham & Morrill Company was one of the early canneries in existence in Maine. Now primarily in the baked bean business, B&M was canning lobsters and sending them to all parts of the habitable globe, according to an 1880 history of Cumberland County, Maine. Canning the lobsters overcame some of the difficulties associated with shipping lobsters, and by the second half of the 19th century the value of canned lobster had surpassed that of live lobster.

The canneries were so efficient at processing the lobsters that they were soon forced to work with smaller lobsters. In 1860, James P. Baxter recalled that four to five pound lobsters were considered small and the two pound lobsters were being discarded as not worth the effort to pick the meat for canning. Only twenty years later, the canneries were stuffing meat from half-pound lobsters into the tins for processing.



Picking fresh lobsters direct from the lobsterman!
During World War II lobster was considered a delicacy, and consequently was not rationed. Thus lobster meat filled the increasing demand for protein-rich food. People could afford it because of the boom of the war-time economy. Although there was a decline in lobster purchases immediately after the war, lobster consumption rapidly rebounded. In the years between 1950 and 1969, per capita lobster consumption increased from .585 pounds (live weight) to .999 pounds. At the same time the cost of lobster outpaced inflation, increasing profits for lobstermen and thereby encouraging more people to join the industry. GIs were also given an added boost with money from the GI Bill that funded some of the startup costs.







Lobster Management: Size Counts

Baypoint: lobsters docksideAs with all fisheries, individual states manage lobster fishing within their three-mile boundaries. In Maine, this job is done by the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Since lobsters caught near shore and offshore look exactly the same when they are loaded onto the dock, it is important that interstate and federal regulations complement each other. An organization called the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, formed in 1942, helps to do this. A compact of 15 eastern seaboard states, the Commission has three representatives from each state. These people include the Director of the state's marine resources management agency, a state legislator, and a fisheries representative appointed by the Governor. The member states are responsible for implementing the Commission Plan. The federal partners in lobster management are also part of the Commission process and work to complement the states efforts. Through the auspices of the National Marine Fisheries Service, federal regulations are adopted for lobster harvesting between three and 200 miles from shore, the United States' "economic zone". Currently, the American lobster is managed under Amendment 3 of the Commission's American Lobster Management Plan.






All states and the federal government share a minimum legal size, 3 1/4 inches carapace-length--from the eye socket to the beginning of the tail. A lobster caught at this size weighs about 1 1/4 lb. The minimum size for legal lobsters was increased in 1988 after scientists persuaded the lobstermen that at the size lobsters were being harvested, 90% of all lobsters were being captured before they'd had a chance to reproduce even once. They argued that only ten percent of the population could not continue to produce enough baby lobsters to keep the industry going for many more years.


dockside with a bucket of lobstersThe scientists had hoped to increase the minimum to a 3 5/16 inch carapace-length, when closer to 50% of the females would be old enough to reproduce. However, lobstermen protested, and the U.S. regulators settled for 3 1/4 inches. (Canada has an even lower minimum size of 3 3/16 inches. These may not be imported into the United States.)

Any egg-bearing females must be released. Some female lobsters are "V-notched," that is, a triangular slice is cut from a tail flipper. This badge of motherhood is meant to keep them off the dinner table and in the breeding pool. Cutting the V-notch is a voluntary action on the part of conservation-minded lobstermen and the Department of Marine Resources. At the other end of the spectrum are lobster harvesters who scrub off the eggs from a female and remove any traces with bleach. Conscientious lobstermen and lobster police do not look kindly on these people.

Maine imposes a maximum legal size of 5 inches carapace-length so all our biggest breeders, which may produce 100,000 eggs rather than the average 10,000 eggs, can stay in the population.




Lobstering territories
lobsterboat with traps over the side


Maine lobstermen have traditionally protected their share of the resource through lobstering territories. In any port, they have an informal, often unspoken agreement about where each member of the fishing community may lay his traps. All the members of one community even lay their strings of traps in one direction, such as north to south, so they don't tangle their lines in someone else's gear.








Youngster with lobstermen

Youngsters who want to enter the fishery may start with a few traps or work as a "sternman," baiting traps and carting gear, for one of the established fishermen. Eventually he or she will be allowed to take over his or her own territory after a suitable apprenticeship. Should an interloper "from away" try to enter the game, he may at first find his gear has been moved or a half-hitch knot tied into his buoy line. If he doesn't get the hint, his traps may be severed from the line. (One string may easily link 10 traps costing $55 each.)







Lobster gangs

James Acheson, an anthropologist at the University of Maine, has studied Maine's closely-knit fishing communities for many years.Harpswell: stacks of lobster traps He has found there is a hierarchy of fishermen, based on an individual's skill and family ties, which he calls "lobster gangs." The gangs claim and defend fishing territory which not only ensures a continued livelihood for its members, but conserves the limited resources from overexploitation. (For more information, read Lobster Gangs of Maine, by James Acheson, 1988: University Press of New England, Hanover, NH.)

The isolated fishing community of Monhegan Island, 10 1/2 miles off the coast of Maine, offers an extreme example. Here 17 lobstermen have exclusive rights (by a 1998 law) to a two-mile radius of ocean around this rock-bound island. The families of Monhegan Island persuaded the state to pass a law limiting lobstering off Monhegan from December 1 to June 25.

The island is closed to lobstering (and open to tourism) the remainder of the year. All the lobster boats lobster throughout the worst weather and highest lobster prices of the year, generally from December through May. Lobstermen on the island feel that their limited fishing season gives the lobster population a break from being fished during the summer when molting and breeding are at their peak. Summer and fall are when lobstering around the rest of the New England coast is at its peak as well.

Photographs taken by George French, furnished courtesy Maine State Archives collection.
All Rights Reserved
More about the history of Lobster Boats All About Lobsters | Lobster Home Page | Gulf of Maine Research Institute Home Page
Updated August 9, 2000. Please email comments to lobster@octopus.gma.org
Copyright (c) 2000. Gulf of Maine Research Institute. All rights reserved.

[Bill Dozer]

I haven't looked so just a guess...demand for seafood down since the BP spill?

[harlee71]

I paid $98 for a 20oz lobster tail dinner not long ago.

That sucker was swimming around when I came in. It was huge!

Little more than a gallon of gas.

[Reload]

Always some good lobster specials here in downtown Boston. A few places have a decent 1 1/4-1/2 lb lobster with sides for like 11.99. Nice to sit out after work in the summer and have one.

[VegasInsider]

I don't know where you're paying $4/lb for lobster, but it has to be a coastal area that has an abundance. Head inland and the price starts to rise generously

[manny24]

lobstermen are cutthroat mf'ers...you can't get into maine's coastal waters for fishing unless your family has been in it for a long time...guys will cut all your lines sending traps to the bottom forever...real low-life cokksuckers will even steal your catch and send traps back down without baiting, etc...it's illegal for lobstermen to carry guns on the boat because back in the day it was nothing to have shootouts on the water...these guys are hard as fukk.

[Doug]

I don't know where you're paying $4/lb for lobster, but it has to be a coastal area that has an abundance. Head inland and the price starts to rise generously

This is the price at a regional supermarket called " Shoprite" . All supermarkets are actually regional. I'm in CT , guys set lobster traps here , in long island sound, but it is not really productive, more of a hobby thing in these waters. Guys pull their boats out of the waters in the winter.

The supermarket ( or shipped "Maine" lobsters come from Maine or Canada). So they take a ride ( several hundred miles) to make it to CT at $4/ lb. CT lobster production is very minimal. These critters seem to thrive in the colder waters.I could get CT lobsters in the summer, but they aren't dirt cheap.

$4 a pound for lobster is cheap as Hell, IMO. I actually get tired of eating it more than twice a week.

[Doug]

trust me, it's $3.99 with the card....

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[Fishhead]

Very simple Mr. Doug......Lobsters don't feed on corn.

Good day,
FH

[samdapatriotsfan]

Tired of lobster? Wow, I must not have eaten enough. I could eat lobster, crab, pussy I mean fish all day everyday. That's just me.

Here in the Valley in N. Cali you are looking at $7 to $8 per pound for Maine lobster.

[SEAHAWKHARRY]

Tired of all the info on lobsters

[Doug]

Tired of lobster? Wow, I must not have eaten enough. I could eat lobster, crab, pussy I mean fish all day everyday. That's just me.

Here in the Valley in N. Cali you are looking at $7 to $8 per pound for Maine lobster.

Even $7/8 a pound shipped 3,000 miles is relatively cheap... it probably cost that much 20-30 years ago ?

lobster literally gets old when you eat it several times a week.

Those critters must reproduce at a Hellish rate.

I can sometimes get them for like $2 a pound when they are old and dying.

[Doug]

Tired of all the info on lobsters

stop reading stuff that doesn't interest you, then, eh !

[mvp123]

hey doug you ever been to reds eats a lobster shack in maine that makes freah lobster rolls with at least a lb or more of fresh caught lobster ,
i seen it on the travel network and food network and i had to go check it out and it was just like they showed , people waiting in long long lines for the best lobster rolls ever . Every time i go on vacation to maine its a must stop for me !!!

[Flexin]

I live in Nova Scotia. I think they are $5-6 a pound here. It was a couple weeks since I last seen the price.

James

[Roadtrip635]

A lot has to do with the economy. I was working at a Seafood Restaurant when the economy crashed and the price of lobster crashed with it. We were getting lobster shipped to Texas for $5.99/lb. At one point, a friend that had come back from New England said that lobster was actually cheaper than bologna. Lobster is a luxury for most and in hard economic times people aren't gonna splurge

[stefan084]

i am so hungry for a lobster roll right now. can i use sbr points to buy one?

[mvp123]

http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Reviews/2959/reds-eats

http://www.hollyeats.com/Reds.htm

[wquine]

i always get my live ones in the old port (portland, me). just seems to go off once the bastards take a trip. They don't like to travel.

[robmpink]

This is the price at a regional supermarket called " Shoprite" . All supermarkets are actually regional. I'm in CT , guys set lobster traps here , in long island sound, but it is not really productive, more of a hobby thing in these waters. Guys pull their boats out of the waters in the winter.

The supermarket ( or shipped "Maine" lobsters come from Maine or Canada). So they take a ride ( several hundred miles) to make it to CT at $4/ lb. CT lobster production is very minimal. These critters seem to thrive in the colder waters.I could get CT lobsters in the summer, but they aren't dirt cheap.

$4 a pound for lobster is cheap as Hell, IMO. I actually get tired of eating it more than twice a week.

Do the lobsters have 3 eyes?

[Doug]

Fishhead probably has pet lobsters !

[robmpink]

Doug, was it $4 a lb for any size? Also, there are softshelled lobsters, which aren't as good.

[Doug]

Well it is $3.99 lb for the "chicken" lobsters that are like 1 -1.25 lbs. I've heard of soft shell crabs, but not lobsters.

They ( Shoprite) sometimes get the big( 2-5 lb+)lobsters more like Memorial day type of stuff and offer them for like $4.99 /lb....if they don't sell well, you can get those for like $2 a pound.

[Deuce]

They like to fukk I guess.

[Doug]

I live in Nova Scotia. I think they are $5-6 a pound here. It was a couple weeks since I last seen the price.

James

Well they are $3.99 at Shoprite, $4.99 is common.

I don't know what to say but I can get lobsters for $4-5 lb easily and these are not local, they come from Maine/ Canada.

What is the wholesale price a fisherman gets ? It must be $3 max ?

[BeatTheJerk]

7.99 a LB here in Miami.

[romecloneout]

my head hurts

[teaserpleaser]

its just a "bug"

[InTheDrink]

doug is one detail oriented mofo!

[sonyman]

------Lobsters don't feed on corn

Good point--pork future prices are very high.
Beef prices high also

[chilidog]

Lobster sounds fukking good. I'm gonna have me some lobster for lunch today, here at the beach in Costa Rica. Hell yahhhhhhh.

[juuso]

Lobster is great stuff. Love to eat it.

[robmpink]

Well it is $3.99 lb for the "chicken" lobsters that are like 1 -1.25 lbs. I've heard of soft shell crabs, but not lobsters.

They ( Shoprite) sometimes get the big( 2-5 lb+)lobsters more like Memorial day type of stuff and offer them for like $4.99 /lb....if they don't sell well, you can get those for like $2 a pound.

Yeah, I would go to town on 5 1-1.25 lbs for $4.00.

Do you prefer soft shell or hard shell lobster? Do you know the difference? And if you do, how do you get the type of shell you favor? LobsterAnywhere.com has the answers.

If you live anywhere in the U.S. other than New England, the lobster you select from that cold water tank, whether a chef will be preparing it for you or you will be steaming it yourself at home, is a hard shell lobster. Hard shell lobster is hardy, healthy, and can travel long distances in the right shipping conditions. But those same lobsters can become as delicate and fragile as their paper-thin shells during molting season. Hard shell and soft shell lobsters are not different breeds, but rather the same lobsters at different times during the year.

Twice a year, when the water of the Atlantic Ocean gets warm, lobsters molt, or lose their shells. A lobster needs to lose its shell in order to grow, and as it increases in size, it grows a new shell to fit. The average lobster grows 20% in size each time it molts. Most lobsters molt at least once a year. Young lobsters molt more frequently, and older lobsters molt less frequently.

Soft shell lobsters are fresh lobsters that have recently molted. Their shells are new and brittle. Over time, their shells become harder and harder, so a soft shell lobster will become a hard shell lobster in a few months.

The lobster grows to fit its new shell. Therefore, when you crack into a soft shell lobster, you’ll find less meat, as the lobster hasn’t had a chance to grow into its new shell yet. The meat is also watery, and not as versatile as hard shell meat. For example, soft shell meat is too fragile to be grilled. However, some lobster fans insist that the meat of the soft shell lobster is sweeter than meat at the hard shell stage.

If you are curious to try soft shell lobster, you’ll have to travel to New England, since soft shell lobster is far too delicate to ship. Come visit us in Maine during the late summer months or early in the fall, when all the lobsters have recently molted. You can crack fresh soft shell Maine lobsters with your bare hands!

[SharpNight]

Lobster is the best!