The commercial fishermen of Florida Keys see this season of lobster trap with optimism. Even if the lobsters are there, the prices are not. Low demand reported by seafood wholesalers who buy from fishermen means dockside prices may be as low as $3 per pound for whole lobster as the season opens.
Lower Keys fisherman George Niles said that it is difficult to make a living at three dollars and can’t afford to go out. He further told that the price of wood and cement [for traps] are at an all-time high, and diesel costs three times what it did a couple years ago.
For Monroe County’s commercial fishing fleet, lobster is far and away the most valuable seafood harvest. But even with a good season – and harvests have not been abundant in years – expectations of low prices have cast a shadow over the season opening, normally a time of high hopes.
Key Largo fisherman Ernie Piton said that they expected to see the price that low. He added that there was talk about a fleet-wide call to keep traps out of the water until prices increase, but with about 800 licensed trappers and commercial lobster divers in the Keys, that was dismissed as impractical.
Bob Jones, executive director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association, an industry trade group based in North Florida, admits that the economic slowdown is hitting everybody. Some of last year’s harvest may still be in wholesalers’ freezers said Jones, although he had no specific information. Key Largo Fisheries has a commitment to our regular fishermen.
