On Wednesday night, I stumbled across two seemingly unrelated visuals on TV while channel surfing - a news clip of a Maine lobsterman's mug shot and a commercial for Uno Chicago Grill. I quickly realized that the two visuals typify the good, the bad and the ugly of historically low lobster prices.
First, the good. Low lobster prices - the result of reduced demand due to the global recession and increased supplies - are making the crustacean accessible to more consumers. Numerous restaurant chains, including Uno's, Bugaboo Creek Steak House and D'Angelo's, are promoting lobster this summer, some for the first time.
In fact, Uno - which is known for its deep-dish pizza, not its seafood - is advertising four lobster items (lobster roll, lobster sliders, lobster wrap and lobster and shrimp scampi) as part of its new summer menu. And countless retailers across New England, from mom-and-pop fish markets to supermarket chains, are hocking live lobster for as little as USD 3.99 (EUR 2.81) a pound. Lobster is so cheap that it costs less per pound than hot dogs.
And prices have yet to bottom out. The harvest is peaking (mid-August through late October) and the tourists will vanish in September, leaving a glut of live lobster on the market. A similar scenario played out last year, and the Maine Lobster Promotion Council (MLPC) capitalized on the opportunity by promoting lobster as a versatile, year-round treat, in an effort to buck the perception that lobster is for celebratory purposes only. And it worked. One Northeast retailer featured lobster on the front page of its weekly circular, distributed to 1.8 million consumers, and sales of the crustacean shot up 400 percent. The MLPC plans to do the same this year.
Now, the bad and the downright ugly. Low lobster prices are killing lobstermen in New England and the Canadian Maritimes. With boat prices ranging from USD 2 to 2.50 (EUR 1.41 to 1.76) a pound, lobstermen are struggling to break even. (Just two-and-a-half years ago, boat prices exceeded 10 a pound.) In Maine, tensions are especially high. One lobsterman shot and nearly killed another lobsterman on Matinicus Island late last month, and more often lobster traps are being intentionally cut and lobster boats are being deliberately sunk. A Wall Street Journal reporter likened the Maine lobster fishery to the Wild West in an interview with MLPC Executive Director Dane Somers, who was quick to point out that isn't the case.
"It's the proverbial double-edged sword," Somers told me on Thursday, referring to the good and the bad of low lobster prices. While more consumers are eating more lobster on more occasions, more lobstermen are being pushed out of the fishery, he explained.
It's a tough pill for lobstermen to swallow, but it's the market at work. Hopefully, a balance will be struck soon, so lobstermen can make ends meet and consumers can enjoy lobster year-round. But until then, let's not forget that historically low lobster prices are not an entirely bad thing.
August 16, 2009
