July 5, 2012 – Lobstermen up and down the coast are staying on-shore, effectively grounded by prices so low it has become uneconomical to haul traps.
“Personally, I haven’t gone out for a couple of days. I don’t like the price — I don’t want to give them away,” said Richard Alley, a lobsterman based out of Addison. “We can’t say we’re striking or anything; that’s against the law. I’m just taking a few days off and enjoying the sun.”
A glut of lobsters and an unseasonably early shedding season for the crustaceans has caused a problem for lobstermen, though it has been a boon for consumers. Retailers have been selling small, soft-shell lobsters for as little as $3.79 a pound in the Portland area.
Back up the pipeline a bit, lobstermen have been getting as little as $2.60 a pound for their catch from dealers. Alley said at that price, he’s just barely covering his expenses. And a few days ago, a dealer called the co-op Alley belongs to and tried to push the price down even further, to $1.75 a pound.
“I think they’re playing a game with us, but that’s just my opinion,” said Alley, adding that the last time he saw prices so low for his catch was when he first started lobstering in 1966.
Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News.