|
ELLSWORTH —
Lobster is still the biggest money maker of
Maine’s coastal fisheries, but
that fact has been little consolation for
lobstermen buffeted by high bait and fuel prices
and uncertain catch rates this year.
However, relief
has been pouring in over the last few weeks as
catches, up and down the coast, boom.
“They’re coming
in fast and furious,” said lobster dealer Rob
Bauer, who buys a lot of lobsters on Mount
Desert Island to sell in the Southern New
England market.
“Last year, it
wasn’t this strong at this time,” he said with
evident relief in his voice.
Maine
Lobstermen’s Association Executive Director
Patrice McCarron takes a broader view of the
fishery. “It has definitely picked up, but it’s
still spotty,” she said.
George Trundy,
manager of the Stonington Lobster Co-Op, said
the recent run of lobsters has been a very
welcome increase.
“We’re a little
but behind last year on poundage,” he said, “but
the price has been better.” So when it comes to
actually money brought in, “we’re not off much,”
he said.
His assessment
squares with Bauer’s observation that the price
is 75 cents higher than it was last year at this
time. “The price staying strong is sort of an
odd thing,” Trundy said. But if it holds, and
the run of lobsters continues through
Thanksgiving, “I think the money will be up over
last year for this area.”
Sam Beal of
Beal’s Lobster Pier in Southwest
Harbor was less optimistic.
“It’s making up
for what we didn’t have earlier,” he said.
To recap the
season, the spring was generally strong,
according to lobstermen and seafood dealers.
However, the summer season was slow and stayed
that way.
As summer moved
into fall, lobstermen looked for an increase in
catch numbers, similar to the one they saw in
2003. But it didn’t come in September.
Persistently cold coastal water was cited as the
most likely culprit keeping the lobsters
inactive and out of traps. Estimates as high as
40 percent were given for the amount the fishery
might be off from the record 2002 season.
The dire
predictions that the 2004 season might be
markedly down and that perhaps lobster
populations had at last taken a dive, continued
into October.
Then reports
started coming in of increased catches, mostly
in the western ports. They started moving to the
east later in the month.
McCarron said
it’s tough to compare the catches because two
pounds per trap to the west is good fishing
while it’s a poor day in Penobscot
Bay. But, “as a whole, the fall
is really getting better,” she said.
Randy Johnson,
manager of the Winter Harbor Lobster Co-Op, said
the catches in that area have increased
dramatically since the beginning of November.
While he welcomes the boom, he’s concerned poor
weather could prevent lobstermen from tending
their gear and taking advantage of the catch
increase.
“The real wild
card has been the weather,” McCarron said. As
the lobsters have come on strong so too has the
wind, she said.
“The weather’s
going to make the doom of it,” Beal echoed. His
concern is that it’s so late in the year, the
chances of having enough usable weather to make
up for the earlier slow season are slim.
While the strong
price has made up for some of the lack, there
are other factors working against lobstermen.
Fuel prices are up and that can’t help but cut
into their bottom line. In addition, bait costs
are up. Bauer and Johnson quoted prices in the
neighborhood of $17 and $18 a bushel. That’s up
from $14 per bushel in recent years.
McCarron said
the good news with bait is that although it
might be expensive, “overall, the bait needs
seem to be met.”
She said
lobstermen have diversified their sources so
they have access to bait other than herring. The
local herring supply often dries up in late fall
when Area 1A, along the Downeast coast, is
closed due to harvesters reaching the total
catch allowed from the region.
Trundy said bait
prices are up and so are bait volumes. He buys
bait for about 77 lobster boats. He said they’re
using 450 bushels a day among them. |
