Maine lobster fishing season winding down

Well the lobster fishing season is starting to wind down, mostly due to the poor prices and nasty weather. The fishermen were only able to get out one and a half days last week. Many had to go out and finish up on Sunday, which the fishermen try to avoid. Coupled with the poor prices, there's not a lot of motivation to keep at it. It costs about $1.25 to bait a trap and you have to pay your sternman on top of that - so with a $2.00 per pound boat price, it's pretty hard not to go behind.

I was speaking to my father yesterday and he said that the fishing is still really strong for December (in terms of how many lobsters they're catching). He anticipates however that the fishing will probably dry up after the next set of high tides.

My father is stockpiling some of his catch - probably a couple thousand pounds - in his lobster car - hoping that the price will go up a bit between Christmas and New Year. A lobster car is a big wooden compartment (sort of like an over sized wooden suitcase) which fishermen use to store lobsters. It floats in the harbor, sits sort of like an iceberg (most of it is under water) and salt water flows freely through it. I've included a picture of my brother at my family's lobster car. As you can see, the doors are up and he's getting ready to put crates of lobsters down into the hold.

While most fishermen sell their catch directly to a wharf dealer (there are two in my town) there are a few fishermen in my town, including my father, who have their own lobster cars and the ability to stockpile lobster. It's always a gamble but one that pays off more times than not. I'll let you know if it works out this time.

To read more recent updates on the Maine lobster fishing season, click here.