May 1, 2020 — Coronavirus and Chinese trade tariffs put California’s spiny lobster industry in a stranglehold this past season. If the trade tariffs going into the season weren’t enough, ex-vessel prices plummeted to a third of what they’d been in previous years with announcements that the coronavirus outbreak warranted stopping shipments of live lobsters to primary markets.
Lunar New Year celebrations in China traditionally mark the highest demand for lobsters shipped across the water from the West Coast. But that market deflated as coronavirus kept Chinese consumers home, slashing demand.
As of mid-March, spiny lobster fishermen had put in 76.5 metric tons of product, according to data posted in PacFIN. Ex-vessel prices averaged $12.26 per pound. Much of that value was predicated by deliveries and shipments previous to the outbreak of the virus in China. Both production and values were down significantly from the same period in the 2018-19 season, when the harvest stood at 194.4 metric tons and average ex-vessel prices of $17.04 per pound.