I fish for lobsters in the Portland, Maine area. I put the blog here so anyone, especially those in the state can comment about events and issues concerning the lobster industry in Maine.
I realize lobsters are caught in several states and you don’t need to be a Maine lobsterman to comment or join the blog, all are welcome.
Lobster News Lines: Connecting Maine Lobster Connections
Over the course of the past 30 years I’ve been in and out of the Maine Lobster Industry a few times, working on wharfs, buying, trucking, sterning and finally, fishing my own gear. The one thing always puzzling me, is how loosely we’re all connected, never completely sure what’s going on up and down the coast, in Augusta and beyond. On a monthly basis three fine publications: The Fisherman’s Voice, Coastal Fisheries News and the National Fisherman keep us informed, but in between, forget it! Our only source of lobster information comes by way of the VHF, early morning, wharf gossip sessions and the occasional phone call from a friend off to the westard, where the lobster price and catch always seem a heck of a lot better.
So I got to thinking. At last count, there were about 6800 licensed lobstermen fishing Maine waters. Up until the disastrous 2008 season we generated approximately $270/$280 million dollars through our catch and some say the sum total of our efforts by way of end products, marine supplies, tourism, employment, boats, taxes and the like comes in at $1 billion dollars. That’s a chunk of change! Now just imagine if we were a single Maine Lobster Corporation, employing 6800 plus, generating $270 million, with another $700 million dollars in business dependant upon our day-to-day work effort. This would make us one of the largest Companies in the State of Maine, an economic powerhouse. But, We’re Not! What we are, is 6800 self employed, separate businesses, each trying to make ends meet and dependent upon outside buyers, dealers, State Agencies and suppliers dictating to us “how” those “ends” will be met. Our looseness is our weakness.
Holding that thought, I began considering how we, as the Lobster Industry’s workhorses and mainstay, can take a step toward gaining more influence in how those “ends” are going to be decided. And, I figure its Information. Yep! Information is Power. That’s why books were written, newspapers began, a key player in television & radio’s success, and why the internet exploded. Lobstermen need Information to be connected and more importantly, use that information to our advantage. We know our boats, our engines, our bottom, the weather, and the costs of operating, but we come up short on marketing, world business developments affecting price & product, legislation, dealer margins and the fluctuations in the lobster markets up and down the Coast. Part of the problem lies in the vastness of the Coast, three thousand miles of it. Another contributing factor is, we’re just too darned busy during fishing season to stay on top of it all.
So, what’s the solution? I figure it to be, increased communication. We begin communicating with each other outside and off of our buying wharfs, Towns, Districts, Zones and even Countries, sharing information, voicing problems, alerting each other to what’s on the lobster horizon. Good and bad! We need to start thinking together as a Maine Lobster Corporation with 6800 employees. Without our work ethic and effort there wouldn’t be that billion-dollar Lobster Industry! There’s simply too much at stake financially and legislatively in next couple/few years not to formulate a unified voice and be heard.
This Blog is a beginning. Get aboard, hold the curve and speak your “voice”. Thanks.
Crays…Western Australia Lobster Fishing
Believing up to date information is crucial to a positive future in Maine’s lobster industry, assessing industry events on the world stage is essential. Australian Rock Lobster or Crays, as they’re known locally, is worthy of examination. Understanding the health of Australia’s industry, it’s management practices and fishing efforts, seems appropriate, despite the distance separating our two countries. Knowledge of Australia’s lobster industry could well offer some clues into what the future holds for Maine.
A significant development occurred nearly 60 years ago when the fishermen felt shortchanged by the buyers and confronted them with an ultimatum, “We want a better boat price, “or”….”. The “or” was the formation of the Geraldton Fisherman’s Co-op, now comprised of 280 boats, employing 500 persons, controlling more than 60% of Western Australia’s lobster landings and grossing $200 million (AU) per year. The Co-op has become an economic powerhouse, shipping live and processed lobster worldwide. Geraldton is also committed to research & development, constantly searching for value added products. Product variations have been created for the Japanese Sashimi market; extracts have been developed for fish attractants in recreational fishing; and research is ongoing to improve the lifespan of lobsters in transit. The bottom-line? Each of the 280 skippers collect annual dividend checks for belonging to a well managed cooperative, committed to marketing foresight and innovation.
Regulations:
On the downside, Western Australia’s Rock Lobster Industry is heavily regulated. In 1963, Limited Entry was adopted and in 1986 and 1993 Trap Reductions were implemented. The season now runs from November 15th to the end of June. In 2004, 495 boats (down from a high of 870) fish 56,800 traps, in three Zones. A recent e-mail from the Western Australia Rock Lobster Council, indicates an additional decrease in fishing vessels, leaving 395 actively involved. The decline in fishing effort can be attributed to biologist’s predictions of an impending 40 year low in harvest and the cost of operation, at $4.50 to $6.00 per “pot lift”.
Adding an extra burden to fishermen’s dilemma, fishery authorities imposed a 50% trap reduction to offset the anticipated drop in production. A quota system is presently under consideration, limiting catch to 160 to170 pounds per trap, per season. Its feared such a management strategy would eliminate smaller boats, consolidating effort to larger operations, thus creating economic hardship for the many smaller coastal towns relying upon the fishery.
Australia’s 2009 season has been chaotic. December reports indicated prices spiraling out of control as catch fell, reaching an all time high of $120/kg, or approximately $60 per pound. In January and February lobsters rebounded with production well above the 2008 season. To stem the increase and maintain a 16.5 million pound allocation, Fishery Ministers called for an additional 35% trap reduction. A further Government directive limits cray fishing to 4 days per week, down from six, effective in March. Clearly, the industry is in crisis mode.
The underlying cause of the increased restrictions? Australia prides itself on world-renowned record keeping in order to maintain industry sustainability. They were the first fishery to receive certification from the Marine Stewardship Council and millions of dollars are spent yearly monitoring rock lobster migrations, the health of egg bearing females and juvenile count. In effect, biologists run the rock lobster industry, dictating management expediencies, growth projections and fishing initiatives. Their hypothetical projections and reports are heard and acted upon in government agencies. After all, a $250 – $300 million-dollar “take”, represents a sizeable income stream. Sound familiar?
The Fishing:
Fishing in Australia is expensive! A trap tag costs $134(AU). Fees & license renewal? A boat fishing 100 traps faces yearly expenses of $15,000(AU). To counter balance these high rates, trap leasing is widely employed, costing a percentage of the trap’s yearly catch. Buying into the fishery is nearly cost prohibitive. The expense of one trap, representing an “entitlement” to fish that trap, normally runs $30,000(AU). Given the difficulty the fishery is experiencing, a 50% drop in value occurred. Its currently possible purchase an “entitlement”, fishing rights to one trap, for $15,000. In order to qualify for a full commercial license, the harvester must possess and/or lease sixty- three (63) traps. To buy a boat, plus 100 trap “entitlements”, means an expenditure of about $4 million dollars (AU).
Until 5 years ago, to offset high operating and start-up costs, the product demanded a higher price than we see in Maine waters. The ten-year price averaged between $20(AU) and $36(AU) per kilogram, or approximately $10 to $18 dollars per pound. In 2005 the gross income of a vessel, fishing 100 traps, was typically $440,000(AU), depending upon effort. Bait, fuel, repair & maintenance, fees & licenses and wages amounted to an estimated $280,000(AU), approximately 66% of gross. A net profit of 34%, or approximately $160,000, could be realized.
Fishing 100 traps requires a different hauling strategy than we have in Maine. The usual set is 24 hours, however, in southern areas, boats often make two sets per day. One short, 10 hour set in the early morning, a haul back and a final set overnight. Despite the short soak time, traps are baited with 6 – 8 pounds of mackerel, including hard bait on top. A per trap average of 2 ½ pounds is normal over the course of the season, with highs and lows occurring as they do in Maine.
Looking at the Cray markets. Because of proximity, Australian Rock Lobster processors have an easy, economical access to the distribution channels of the Pacific Rim countries, specifically, Hong Kong/China, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and the emerging Indian market. In addition, “designer” products are created for those markets. For instance, in China, the color red denotes prosperity and good luck, hence, they cull their finest cooked, deep red lobster to meet those market demands, thereby exacting higher prices. For the Japan market, processors ship an empty shell accompanied by vacuum packed lobster meat in order to fulfill unique cultural preparations. Interestingly, the import value of a live rock lobster to Japan exceeds that of a North Atlantic lobster by a margin of nearly 2:1, $41.80 vs. $22.80, respectively. Australian frozen tails, cooked & cooled whole lobster are also exported to the US and European markets.
The Learning Curve:
When all is said and done, what can be learned from our counterparts half way across the world, who are currently facing increased regulatory mandates, increased operating expense and future uncertainty. First and foremost, Maine Lobstermen represent a loosely tied together Industry, separated by 300-400 buying stations and 3000 miles of coastline, lacking a structure to leverage selling power and price. Sixty years ago, 400 or 500 Australian Captains, remedied that problem by establishing the Geraldton Co-op, in a show down of business wisdom. They won! Reaping a $200 million dollar prize! Secondly, because of our fragmented structure, we have very limited corporate research & development within the State, designed to benefit us in end product utilization, live holding technology and/or a future strategic plan. Innovation and technology simply aren’t there to support the Maine Lobster Industry.
Furthermore, Maine harvesters, have little, if any, input into the marketing, innovation and/or economic initiatives vitally important to our future. Bottom-line, we’re currently the Industry’s production worker, running $200,000 owner-operator machines, providing a marketable product to a buying middleman, who then sells to another middleman, who then sells to another and another. An antiquated and obsolete system for the 21st century. The Australians have it straight up. Own a share in your vertically integrated company, be informed and reap the rewards of your efforts.
Regulations for the Maine Lobster Industry are here to stay. It’s called sustainability! We haven’t reached the Australian saturation point, although we can expect more restrictions to be forthcoming and they just did according to the Lobster Advisory Council’s announcement of a 3-Tiered License Plan. To date, we’ve experienced trap reductions; are active in limited entry; have supported increased carapace measure and notching; and now, we’re saving whales. Not only that, it seems we now have to justify our efforts in becoming a Certifiable & Sustainable Industry, insuring we catch lobster humanely, without disturbing the ocean floor and/or creating havoc with alternate species. It’s a money-maker for the UK Company, Moody Marine, Ltd, at $800,000 to $1,000,000 per “Certification” and of course, provides further credibility to the Marine Stewardship Council, having Maine Lobstermen welcomed aboard.
So what’s down the road? Certainly, the Moseley Group, our $100,000 consultant, recently hired by Augusta’s Lobster Task Force, will be offering marketing and Strategic Plan recommendations. If he and/or she thoroughly did their homework, Australia’s Model is one of many they’ll be reviewing.
What are the most pertinent, workable similarities comparing Maine to Australia? Limited Entry, Trap Reductions, Increased License Fees, Quotas, R&D, Fisherman’s Processing Co-ops, Closed Seasons, Increased Lobster Research, New Buying Methods and Models, Buying, Selling & Leasing Traps & Licenses, etc., etc. They’re all on the table.
Considering change is inevitable, it is vitally important to all of us involved in the Lobster Industry to stay informed, speak out in a more unified way, and to remember, nothing is impossible, whether it be good and/or bad. The future is in our hands. Stay informed! Be heard!
Thanks for the comments. I changed your status so you can put both as main posts if you wish. That way they would be on the front page so more people would see them. If I can catch you online sometime, I can explain of you can’t figure it out.
I don’t know for sure if you can delete the comments once they are in as post or not. I will take care of that end.