No Glut, No Price,
Now What?
by Hilary Savage
Devin Haskell’s Holligan, built by Mariner, and Issac Beal and Bobby Lee’s Justin & Colby at the Jonesport lobster boat races. Lobster harvest numbers are up but not prices as fishing season gets underway. The new Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative is just getting under way as well. “I got a question mark on my slip yesterday. They weren’t sure what the price was, yet,” Terry Savage said at the Commissioners meeting on prices and marketing. © Photo by Sam Murfitt
Only a few red shirts were visible in a crowd of more than 80 lobster industry members at the July 16th listening session held by the Maine Department of Marine Resources in Ellsworth. The red shirts have come to symbolize the newly formed lobstermen’s union, under the name International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), which are working towards an active role for fishermen within industry decision-making.
Much contention has been expressed in past months between other industry organizations such as the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and Mike Dassatt of the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association admits to being less than enthusiastic when the union was first organizing. Little discussion of the union took place at Tuesday’s meeting, however, as low boat prices dominated the conversation.
Fishermen in Mount Desert and Deer Isle reported boat prices at around $2.40/lb at the time of Tuesday’s meeting. “I got a question mark on my slip yesterday. They weren’t sure what the price was, yet,” Terry Savage, who fishes out of Northeast Harbor, stated.
