August 22, 2012 — Fishermen, state officials and many Mainers support the idea of having more lobster processing facilities in the state. No longer having to rely on Canadian processors to cook and package a sizable amount of the state’s lobster meat could mean more local revenue and jobs, in addition to expanded uses for fishermen’s increasing lobster landings.
Before trying to increase the number of processing facilities in Maine, however, the state must recreate how it markets lobster. There is no point in encouraging more processing plants if the consumer base around the world is not broadened first. We would like to see current facilities expanded or new ones built, but the plants would obviously not be viable businesses if their frozen lobster tails sat in storage.
Many people are already doing good work to spread the word about Maine lobster. Shuck’s Maine Lobster processing plant in Richmond sponsors a lobster chefs world series championship, for example. This year it held competitions in Hong Kong, Boston, Italy, France, Germany and Spain to pick out the best lobster recipes and introduce chefs to Maine lobster. The Associated Press reported that one of the winning recipes in the first round included miso-butter basted lobster with sunchoke puree, roasted maitake mushroom ragout and lily bulb.
Just as creative marketing is key, so is promoting Maine lobsters in regions showing growing demand. Darden Restaurants Inc. announced in 2010 an agreement to develop 60 Red Lobster, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants in the Middle East over a five-year period. In 2011 it announced an additional 37 restaurants in Mexico. The lobsters that Red Lobster sells in Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico should be caught off the coast of Maine.
China is another clear example of a growing market for Maine lobster. In 2010, China bought $10 million worth of Canadian lobster, and in 2011 it tripled its purchases to a total of $30 million. Maine will need to increase its marketing there to familiarize the Chinese with Maine crustaceans and ramp up demand. And Maine may have to get innovative to suit the tastes of customers. Wendy’s fast food chain, for example, is launching a lobster and caviar sandwich in Japan, and it sells for a whopping $16.
Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News.