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+--- Thread: Lobsters ... record catches low price (/showthread.php?tid=102741)
Lobsters ... record catches low price - oldtimer - 05-23-2020
Some caught over a ton a couple of days .
Price is $4/cdn or $3 US . It still cost $2,000 to pull away from the wharf .
RE: Lobsters ... record catches low price - CardBoardBox - 05-24-2020
$2K is one heck of a departure tax. (that's not literal.)
April has an R in it and May does not.
Would it make sense if everyone kept their boat moared for a while? Maybe that is an unfair question. I'm not aware of overfishing of lobster where a pause would have long term gains.
Do you monitor what the retail price is doing?
Farmers take a beating. This years planting of corn and something else is larger than last years and it won't turn out good when it is harvest time. Yet, and I don't know the reasons, retail prices are rising on some items.
Farmers and fishermen are vital. I get upset when middlemen and speculators are controlling things and reaping the profits. PA has an ad campaign "buy locally produced items", milk being one of them and we do have local dairies, but it is sad when these producers (USA and Jamaica) can't afford to feed their families due to low wholesale selling prices and high expenses.
RE: Lobsters ... record catches low price - oldtimer - 05-24-2020
2K
Mens wages , fuel , bait , boat payment , docking fees , food , etc $100,000/year before 1 lobster is trapped . She ain't cheap bye !!!!
The buyers are there , you take it or leave it . The season is over June 31st . The lobsters start to molt so they are of no value .
A lot of natives fish with no sale . In the fall the buyers ship to Maine and they are sold as Maine lobsters . This year is WAY !!!! different than we have seen before because of the COVID-19. Fishin' ain't for sissies or people that want to get rich .
RE: Lobsters ... record catches low price - kylake - 05-24-2020
Fishing is definitely a tough life and very unforgiving. Just having a boat, equals, bring out another thousand, even a small boat. Sorry to hear the market is so flat price wise since it hurts the fishermen but the consumer never sees much if any price reduction. Is there any way a consumer can buy from the fishermen for direct shipment. If so what would be the cost per lb usd? Could they make any better marketing themselves? I guess not or it would have already been done.
RE: Lobsters ... record catches low price - oldtimer - 05-25-2020
All good questions Kylake . You can't send them across the border without a broker . Most fishermen do sell off the boat BUT !!!!! there are only fishermen allowed on the wharf this year . There is a Co-op but that doesn't really help . The Asians control the price of fish , like it or not . The smaller lobsters ( canners ) are not allowed to be shipped , they are to be processed in Canada . The market lobster ( here in our area 26A ) are the best of the best . They are full to the boards and pop open like popcorn when cracked . They can be shipped but not now .The US sent some trucks up to carry lobsters back but can't get on the wharf and even if they could they can't cross provincial borders with them . It's a giant shit show , using the fishermen's catch as colllateral and then telling them they are not worth anything . Lobster is cheaper than beef , chicken or trying to eat more vegan like . Lobsters are cheaper than hot dogs .As strange as it may sound McDonald's are the largest buyer of lobsters in the US ( just not now ).Even with the large catches my son is fishing for his boat payment 1st , then the crew get payed , then the fuel get's paid for , then the bait bill and at long last HE GETS PAID !!!! Not bad for a .5M investment!!! Shees !!!!
RE: Lobsters ... record catches low price - daniel - 05-25-2020
For the last few months Maine fisherfolks have been selling direct to the consumer. They are selling off the truck in parking lots across the state selling lobsters ,clams,oysters,scallops,and mussels at a price more affordable than we usually see , while doing a little better than the off the boat wholesale price they usually get .
RE: Lobsters ... record catches low price - oldtimer - 05-25-2020
There were some doing this BUT !!!! there are 42 boats at my son's wharf all landing at least 1200lbs/day . Now that is 50,000lbs/day at this one wharf . All of Nova Scotia is only 1 1/2 million people . Just think of the compitition .12 hours in the boat , 2 hours each way to the city , how many do you take , and then trying to sell them at midnight and then back to the boat without going home .Makes for 60 very long days . It's hard believe me .
RE: Lobsters ... record catches low price - kylake - 05-25-2020
Thanks for taking time to explain the whole situation OT. Bummer that they cannot market direct. I figured the trucking back to US would not work because of the border closing.
I guess it is not possible for someone not doing the actual fishing but with an association to the Co-op to sell on the side but of course with the amount the fishermen are taking each day there would not be a buyer for that amount unless a big grocery and restaurant chain.
Well best of luck to your son Lee and his crew!