PORTLAND, Maine — August 22, 2012 — Celebrity Cruises will buy nearly 2 tons of lobster for its passengers this fall, boosting demand at a time when a glut of lobsters has driven prices to a 30-year low.
But it's unclear whether the sale will go to a Maine dealer.
Even if it does, the purchase won't put much of a dent in the lobster supply. The 3,800 pounds the cruise line will buy is roughly equivalent to a day's catch from two boats, say dealers.
A spokeswoman for Celebrity, Tavia Robb, said Wednesday that the cruise line is still negotiating with wholesalers and hasn't yet chosen one. She said one potential supplier is Steve Connolly Seafood Co. of Boston.
Steve Connolly Jr., the company's president and general manager, said Wednesday that he wasn't aware of any plans to provide lobsters to Celebrity Cruises.
If Celebrity Cruises does decide to buy from a Boston company, it still could get Maine lobster, said Dane Somers, executive director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald.