Frustrated lobstermen in Maine started selling fresh lobster direct to the consumers to get extra dollars. In this attempt they sell from their trucks, garage, homes, from any point they find suitable to reach consumers directly. This has been done due to low price of lobster in the market which is expected to fall further this summer. By selling directly to consumers lobstermen are cutting out the dealers who usually sell lobster catches to retailers, restaurants, processors and other buyers.
By going directly to consumers, lobstermen say they can make roughly $1 more per pound than what they get from lobster dealers. Turner, a longtime fisherman whose garage is a bare-bones retail operation with cold-water holding tanks, a scale and a cash register. He said that if the price hadn’t gone into the toilet, he wouldn’t have done this in the first place. His wife tends shop when he’s on his boat. He takes no charge cards and doesn’t cook or ship lobsters. He said he’s just a lobsterman trying to make ends meet.
In a letter to state fishery officials, a group of 13 dealers and retailers said the direct-sales trend is counterproductive for harvesters, the resource and the state. They say retailers in particular are at a competitive disadvantage because of their overhead costs. It is told that lobster prices fluctuate widely throughout the year, sometimes daily, based on supply and demand. Lobstermen and dealers have symbiotic relationships that can sometimes get tense when prices fall.
