Maine lobstermen brought in less money than year before
PORTLAND (WGME) — The Maine Department of Marine Resources released new lobster industry statistics.
After a year of historically high sales in 2021, last year's numbers dropped.
In 2021, the average price per pound of lobster was $6.71. That fell to $3.97 in 2022.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources said lobstermen brought in just under 98 million pounds in 2022. That was much lower than the year before due to a few different economic reasons.
We know with the data that we got from our landings program that there were 50,000 fewer trips in 2022 than in 2021. We heard a lot of fishermen say if things had been different, then you would see a lot more fishing effort and chances are you would’ve seen landings up over 100 million pounds,” said Jeff Nichols, who is the communications director for the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
High bait prices and high fuel costs were what added up to equal fewer trips.
After dealing with high fuel and high bait costs last year, Maine lobstermen made some adjustments, and it impacted their bottom line.
Not only did the price drop almost $3 per pound, but people also say with unfair federal regulations being proposed, uncertainties caused some to invest less in their businesses.
Many fishermen let their traps sit longer to adapt to the circumstances.
So, 2021 was a dream. It really was with that price. A lot of people think that’s where it should be. We had never seen that kind of shoot up before for the whole summer. I think most of us expected it to drop back but not drop almost in half,” lobsterman Steve Train said.
As for 2023, Train said he thinks the price of bait will drop and he hopes fuel costs come down, too.
