July 15, 2012 — YORK, Maine — A glut of lobsters has dropped prices so low some Maine fishermen want a shutdown of the industry, prompting the commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources this week to issue warnings against lobster wars and antitrust violations.
The department has no authority to close the lobster fishery for economic reasons, Commissioner Patrick Keliher said in a released statement.
"We have heard that fishermen are seeking to impose a de facto shutdown of the fishery and coercing others into complying by threatening to cut off their gear," Keliher said. "The state will not tolerate any trap molestation, and any such actions will be met with targeted and swift enforcement or other appropriate action."
Further, any action by lobstermen to force a shutdown could be deemed in violation of federal antitrust laws, he said.
Keliher on Friday said he knew of no instances in which lines have been cut.
York lobstermen interviewed said they knew of no cut lines nor threats to traps for anyone continuing to fish. Most were still lobstering, though one fishermen interviewed on Thursday said it wasn't worth it.
"I'm not getting enough to cover (expenses)," said Mike Caramihalis aboard the Kelsey C, tied up at Town Dock No. 1. "I'm not going out after today for a few days."
Lobsterman Zach Donnell, who works out of the John Hancock Wharf, said, "You can make a little bit of money, not a lot. It's just barely enough to cover expenses."
"Definitely, the volume is way up," added his father, Jeff Donnell, who docks the Cindy L at Sewall's Bridge, where daughter Lindsey Donnell sells lobsters off the boat starting at $3.30 per pound.
"Usually the Fourth of July, we're fighting for lobsters," she said.
Not this year.
A warmer-than-normal Atlantic Ocean is blamed or credited with the early lobster season.
This year, lobsters began moving into shallow waters to shed their hard shells at least a month ahead of schedule, according to those interviewed. Because hard-shell lobsters have more meat and are easier to ship, they fetch higher prices.
"It's a water temperature issue," Keliher said on Friday. "It has nothing to do with the health of the resource. The lobster resource is healthy."
What is currently being caught is 90 percent soft, or new-shell lobsters, according to Jeff Donnell.