After a very rough year in 2008, lobstermen are hoping for a better market price this year. According to a front page story in today’s Press Herald,
The price paid to lobstermen last week ranged from $4 per pound in Portland to $3.25 per pound Down East. Retail prices started at about $5.50 per pound for the smallest lobsters.
The lobsters on the market now are usually the most valuable of the season, both because they are in tight supply and because their hard shells mean they can be shipped live around the world as well as sold locally. When the peak summer season starts around July 4, the market is typically flooded with soft-shell lobsters that can only be sold locally, bringing the price down by as much as $2 a pound.
See also May issue of Working Waterfront op-ed piece by the Island Institute’s Philip W. Conkling:
http://www.workingwaterfront.com/columns/Column/13109/