Lobstermen feeling pinch of price crash

"It's going to be a hard winter Downeast," says lobster fisherman John Drouin of Cutler of the sudden drop in price for lobsters, with fishermen now receiving about half the amount per pound they got last year. "People are telling me they're putting money away to keep the lights on and food on the table, and the rest of the bills -- to hell with them."

"When this industry is hurting it will trickle down to others," says Drouin, noting that there are about 225 licensed lobster fishermen from Cutler to the St. Croix River, and that number can be nearly doubled by adding in sternmen. "It will hurt the local economies of all the towns."

Drouin, who is chairman of the Lobster Zone A Council, says he hauls in about 75% of his annual catch during the fall months of October and November, so the price drop now has hurt Downeast fishermen harder than those along the rest of the coast. "The mid-coast had their season in August and September before the price crashed." After the first of October the price "just started dropping like a rock. It bottomed out at $2."

Leo Murray of Lubec notes that the rise in costs from fuel and bait to traps and buoys puts fishermen in a squeeze. The cost of bait has increased between $4 and $8 a bushel, and it's costing him $75 to $125 a day for gas to haul just 200 traps. Lobster fishermen also will be having to pay for new sinking groundline next spring, with Channon Jones of Trescott estimating it may cost him $15,000 to replace all of his line. Meanwhile, the price of lobsters has dropped from $4.75 a pound or more for lobsters less than 2 pounds to around $2.50. The price for selects, those over 2 pounds, has slid from $5 or more to $3.50. Maine fishermen fear that with the November 14 opening of the season in southwestern New Brunswick that the price will decline again.

The economic pinch has forced fishermen to find other work to make some money. Murray says, "I'm going to Florida this winter to find something to do. Normally I'd have enough money to tide me through the winter. This year it's not there." Angus McPhail of Perry has to make regular boat payments on the aptly named High Maintenance, but he says, "We're going to make it, but I'll definitely have to find something else to do this winter." Usually he fishes for lobsters until mid-December and then drags for scallops. This year he'll bring his traps in early, and he's not sure what will happen with the scallop fishery. The state has proposed cutting the season back to 52 days this year. Noting that he'll probably cut wood this winter, McPhail comments, "It's going to be a tight year."

Channon Jones, who fishes about 10 miles offshore in the grey zone, says he usually repairs his gear during the winter. "This year I'm thinking about trying to find a job, but it's hard when there are no jobs. We'll have to put more clothes on and cut down on the thermostat."

"Instead of struggling a little bit, you just struggle a little more," says Murray, who adds, "I remember my dad telling me that during the Great Depression they didn't know it was a depression until it was over. Maybe it's like that now."

Reasons for the price drop include the economic slowdown over the past year and the Wall Street meltdown this fall, along with a recent increase in landings. Also, some Canadian processors had their lines of credit through Icelandic banks cut off, with the worldwide banking crisis.

Sara Griffin of Quoddy Bay Lobster in Eastport, which wholesales to BBS Lobster Trap Co. of Machiasport, understands that larger companies such as Red Lobster that tend to pre-buy and stock up on lobsters at this time of year, when the price is usually a bit lower, are not doing so because not as many people are buying lobster, with the financial crisis.

Although community events to help the lobster fishermen by selling lobsters locally have taken place in mid-coast communities such as Stonington, Rockland and Boothbay Harbor, Drouin says the population is too spread out in Washington County. However, he notes that people in Cutler came to the wharf to buy lobsters during the first week or two after the price drop. "I've never seen anything like that."

Murray suggests, with about 75% of the lobsters caught in Maine during the fall being shipped to Canada for processing, that more of the processing should be done in Maine. Drouin, though, believes the additional processing might not help with the price paid to fishermen, although it could provide some jobs and would cut transportation costs. But any new processors would have to compete with current processors to find their markets.

Murray also thinks that having local cooperatives market lobsters would help the fishermen. But Drouin observes, "If I have to promote a Maine lobster to a Maine resident, there's something wrong there. To me, lobster needs to be marketed to the everyday person." He notes that many restaurants have not dropped the price for a lobster dinner, although some supermarkets such as Hannaford and Shaw's have reduced their prices. A York seafood retailer is even promoting lobster for the Thanksgiving table.

Griffin comments that dealers, retailers and restaurants have significant overhead costs and that the energy costs to hold the lobsters and keep them alive have increased. Although some have advocated for fewer middlemen to help with the price paid to fishermen, Griffin points out that Quoddy Bay Lobster would have to buy a refrigerated truck, hire a driver and expand its holding tank in order to sell directly to the Boston market. "That's a lot of overhead expense," she notes.

Drouin believes that lobsters should be marketed as an everyday product "so people can have a lobster just as easy as I can order fish and chips." He adds, "It should be like bologna -- that's what we're getting paid anyway."

"The main thing is: lobsters are cheap. Go buy a lobster. It's cheaper than any of the meat in the meat counter."