July 17, 2012 — ROCKPORT — Tumbling lobster prices have spurred a rush on the normally pricey seafood, from popular Boston waterfront spots like James Hook & Co. to weathered fish shacks to some grocery stores.
“We’ve been selling out every day,” said Brian Sansoucie, a supermarket manager on the North Shore. “Customers are thrilled, and we just can’t keep enough of them.”
At Yankee Lobster Co. in Boston, where lobster was going for $5.99 a pound, sales over the weekend were up by half, while markets reported unusually brisk business.
Nelson Rodriguez, 49, from Jamaica Plain, regularly buys 20 pounds of lobster for family cookouts and said he is getting used to dining in style.
“It’s pretty great,” he said. “I’m saving about $40 each time. A lot better than at the restaurant.”
Lobster has long enjoyed a gourmet image, a deep-sea delicacy that requires deep pockets. But this summer, as lobster prices have plunged in a saturated market, the succulent treat has increasingly become a bargain.
At The Gloucester House Restaurant, Lenny Linquata said the market upheaval has flipped the seafood hierarchy, making lobsters among his cheapest seafood. As a result, a lobster roll that would have cost $35 is now $25, he said. Hot boiled lobster that would often run close to $30 is going for $15.95.
In Massachusetts, fishermen are selling lobster for less than $3 a pound, down by more than one-third over last summer. In Maine, the price this week has fallen to around $2 a pound, about half of what fishermen need to break even.
“It’s a real hardship,” said Robert Bayer, who directs the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine. “Some of these guys aren’t even going out.”
The price drop was brought on by an early arrival of soft-shell lobsters, which typically do not arrive in force until July. This year, fishermen were harvesting them in May and in abundance.
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