How has the economy made the lobster industry less
profitable?
The price of everything in the lobstering business is going
up, except the price of lobster when sold by the lobsterman. They receive as little as $2 to $2.50 a pound for their catch,
which is the lowest it has been in 30 years. Although the price escalates to
$17 a pound or higher by the time a customer orders a lobster in a restaurant,
so they only person take a hit is the lobsterman and the restaurants are
benefiting from the low rates. The price of lobster fluctuates with how far it
is traveling.
How much of the lobsters are actually edible?
You never
really know what you are getting when you buy an abundance of lobster off the
boat it is always a gamble. A crate of lobster averages 90 pounds when the
lobsters are soaked in water. As the water leaks out and they dry off, that
weight shrinks to about 87 pounds by the time a dealer gets the crate to a
facility to sort the lobsters for quality, so a dealer paid for 90 pounds of
lobster but got only 87 pounds. Of that, some are dead or broken, which makes
it even less profitable, dealers say. Dealers
then sort the lobsters for quality and hardness. The strongest lobsters get
sent to the "live" market retail stores and restaurants. Of an average order of 120 crates at 90
pounds each, about only 17 crates may be usable for the live lobster market,
said Kerin Resch, owner of Eastern Traders in Nobleboro. The rest goes to
processors.
What is the difference in price of lobster off a boat to in
a store?
The price of lobster a lobsterman earns is going down and
down every year while the price in stores and restaurants is staying steady or
even going up still as high $17 dollars which is about 750% higher than it is
sold off a lobster boat and brought too a co-op or dealer. For a lobsterman every expense is rising from gas to
just the everyday cost of operating the lobster boat. For example some fishing
boats hold 300 gallons of diesel at 4 dollars a gallon, which would translate
too around 1200 dollars, too fill the tank.
How much do certain states relay on the Lobster Industry?
Lobster has a major contribution to many states economy.
Maine generated almost $331 million in
“dock value”. The fishery supports businesses such as processors, dealers,
marine outfitters, boat makers, retailers and restaurants. The lobster industry
supports hundreds of small, coastal villages and communities. Low prices and
market excess may be the biggest problems many Maine lobstermen had to deal
with this year according to the Portland Press Herald.
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