FROM THE CROWE’S NEST

The Brand Already Built

The collapse of lobster prices last fall sent a shock wave through the lobster industry. This collapse differed from the historically common drop. It was steeper, and was accompanied by high fuel costs, high operating expenses, mortgaged boats, and no traditional recourse to other fisheries.

The governor’s Task Force assessed the situation and hired a marketing company to develop markets for Maine “branded” lobster.

The basic plan: more markets will raise demand and therefore prices. It works for a lot of things. Lobster, however, is a fairly fixed volume commodity. How high can the retail price of lobster go before the demand levels off?

There are other moves underway. The Marine Stewardship Council has been hired to determine if Maine lobster is sustainably harvested.

For $150,000 the MSC will let Maine put certified labels on lobster. And, that may sell more lobster. But sticking a smiley face label on a lobster doesn’t address the larger range of problems the harvesters face, not the least of which is share equity.

Lobstermen want to know what will be done to raise the share they are paid regardless of what prices do. Maybe a labor expert should have been hired, or a dealer who had defected to the other side, to explain how this might happen

Having one of the seafood certification agencies OK Maine lobster may benefit processors and dealers. But if history repeats itself there is no guarantee it will benefit fishermen.

As one of the most important industries in Maine, and the most important on the coast, there is a lot at stake. The lobstermen make it happen, but the industry is an interdependent network that could benefit from better recognizing that fact.

A more comprehensive approach would include looking at pricing policies that would be a benefit industry wide, reducing the costs of fishing, competing with government subsidized Canadian processors, and securing a future place for Maine fishermen in the traditional fisheries that have been closed to them.

When government throws money, many will alight the pile to partake, and easily offer suggestions. The lobster fishery is a $300 million industry. A lot of people would like a piece of it.

Maine lobstermen need to hold onto the piece they have always had, and get a fair share of the brand they have already built.