Brothers John and Brendan Ready, co-owners of Ready Seafood, have turn the tide with a new programme offering foodies a piece of the Maine waterway: their own personal lobster trap. It is fact that the fuel and bait costs are soaring, the annual catch is dwindling, and market prices for lobster are flat. Under such circumstances a pair of Portland seafood purveyors is trying to counter the industry’s decline with the most reliable tactic for escaping grim industry economics: savvy marketing.
John and Brendan have a new offering tailor-made for foodies looking to get closer to their own personal supply chain. According to them for a $2,995 yearly membership fee, lobster lovers will be shipped every critter caught in their personal trap, with a guaranteed minimum of 40 lobsters. They said that dropping three grand on a few dozen lobsters is a luxury with a niche market, but he’s optimistic that the programme’s fringe benefits will lure buyers.
According to the Maine Department of Marine Resources in 2007, the annual harvest was 62 million pounds, down 14 percent from peak years in 2004 and 2006. Carl Wilson, the Department’s lead lobster biologist, told that we can’t have another year like last year and not expect to see a pretty good shakeout. According to Ready brothers for lobstermen, all independent harvesters free to sell to any distributor.
Ready opined that these lobstermen are desperate to find a way to make more money fishing. Colin Woodard, a Maine historian and author of The Lobster Coast, told that the industry will be watching closely to see whether the Readys’ idea succeeds. He added that the model probably won’t find a big enough market to support 7,000 commercial lobstermen in Maine.
