LMR – Lobster supply increases; prices hold steady

The October lobster market combined dramatically improved catches with many Maine fishermen saying they were now on par with their 2013 numbers, pleasing prices, and mammoth catches from Canada’s Bay of Fundy fishery.

The Fundy fishery, Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 35, opened Oct. 15.  Though catches varied for each of the fishery’s 95 or so licensed boats depending upon the area fished, the size of the boat, and the appetite of the fisherman, an exporter called 4,500 lbs per day a good starting average volume.  At the initial shore price of C$5.25 to C$5.50/lb (US$4.69 to US$4.90), each day those Fundy fishermen hauled they potentially grossed close to a staggering C$25,000 (US$22,275).

By Oct. 18, after only three days of fishing, a Canadian processor reported that the shore price had dropped to
C$5/lb (US$4.45), partially due to reports of a lot of soft and weak lobsters.  But a Canadian exporter said he guessed the price drop was due more to quantity.

On Oct. 19, he reported, “Five days fishing at 4,500 lbs per boat with 100 boats fishing equals over 2 million lbs of new catch on top of what Maine is producing – the best catches of the season – and a supposedly wobbly (live)market.”  Under these circumstances the exporter found it not surprising that the price in Canada had gone down.  He was also concerned that, if the Fundy catch and price were high enough, those 100 Fundy fishermen could swamp the Canadian lobster industry.

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Read the rest and much, much more in the November issue of Commercial Fisheries News.
Read online immediately and download for future reference.  

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