Lobster Harvest Days connect customers with lobstermen

Communities up and down the coast organized Lobster Harvest Day events throughout the month of October. The events underscored the importance of lobstering to Maine’s coastal communities at a time when lobstermen are faced with rising bait, fuel, and gear costs coupled with low lobster prices.

Inspiration for Lobster Harvest Days came from the success of lobster buying days organized last year by volunteers in Stonington, Georgetown, Rockland, and other towns.

The Maine Lobster Promotion Council supported this year’s volunteer efforts through statewide advertising, tee-shirt printing and flyer printing.

PORT CLYDE

The Port Clyde Fishermen’s Cooperative held their Lobster Harvest Day on October 10 from noon to 5:00 p.m. They sold 1,200 pounds of lobster— two times their original goal. Live lobster sold for $5 each, cooked lobster for $6, lobster rolls for $10 and lobster dinners for $10. Festival-goers enjoyed lobster dinners on the dock while listening to live music. The festival took place on the co-op wharf—recently restored due to the cooperative efforts of local commercial fishermen, the state’s Working Waterfront Access Pilot Program, and the Island Institute.  Proceeds from the event will go towardsmaintaining the working waterfront and furthering the lobstermen’s direct-marketing efforts.

SCARBOROUGH

(submitted by Sue Bayley of  Bayley’s Lobster Pound) We at Bayley’s Lobster Pound participated in Lobster Harvest Days this year by offering small lobsters at $5 each and mediums at $6 each, live or cooked. Customer response was good and a few customers learned of the event through the Maine Lobster Promotion Council’s advertisements. We ran the promotion in our retail market on Saturday and Sunday of Columbus Day weekend. We also sent emails and advertised in local newspapers. For those two days alone we sold about 2,000 pounds of lobsters. That is a little less than we sold last year for the same weekend. Last year was a particularly good Columbus Day weekend because the reduced retail price of lobsters was still a novelty to consumers and was creating a buzz. Though the prices this year were good, and Canadian Thanksgiving was the same weekend, which helps a lot here in Pine Point, it seems that customers have become desensitized to low prices. Customers responded positively to selling lobster at a set price rather than a per pound price. We were genuinely surprised at how positively people reacted to the $6 each mediums. Overall, the combination of decent weather and the holiday weekend helped us more than the state-wide advertising. The vast majority of our customers were from Boston or Canada, and they were less likely to have heard the promotional spots. Though we did draw local customers, more than one of them remarked seeing roadside signs for $3.49 and questioned the $5 price.

BATH

Gilmore’s Sea Foods  held their Lobster Harvest Day on October 11. Lobsters sold for $5 live or cooked. They sold between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds. Ben Gilmore of Gilmore’s Sea Foods reports that they were
pleased with the results.

STONINGTON

(information taken from a SLWG press release) The Stonington Lobster Working Group (SLWG) held its second annual “Lobster Sale on the Pier” on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 1:00. Live, 1 lb to 1-1/4 lb lobsters sold for $5.25 each on the Stonington Fish Pier in the middle of town. The lobster working group set the price at a level that re? ects the value of the catch to the island’s lobster industry and the Deer Isle-Stonington community as a whole. The lobsters, all caught by the local fleet, were provided through the cooperation of the Stonington Lobster Co-op with the support of all the island’s private dealers. Proceeds from the day’s sale were donated to the Island Food Pantry and the Island Heating Assistance Program. The first “Lobster Sale on the Pier” was held in October of 2008, when the price of lobster was in a free-fall due to the international financial crisis. It was held to raise the general public’s awareness of the local lobster industry. The Stonington Lobster Working Group is a subgroup of the town’s Economic Development Committee.

WINTER HARBOR

The Winter Harbor lobster co-op held a Lobster Harvest Day on October 11 from 9:00-3:30. Lobsters sold for $5 each live or cooked. They sold about 400 pounds of lobster.

GEORGETOWN

Georgetown residents held their first Lobsterman Appreciation Day at the Five Islands Lobster Company in 2008. The event was a success—bringing in approximately $14,000—and it encouraged the community to organize another event this year.  Five Islands employee Georgia Watson-Kennett organized the event which was held October 17. She was disappointed by this year’s smaller turnout  but they were still able to raise $8,216. Lobsters sold for $5 each, live or cooked. They also provided free coffee and desserts.

RAYMOND

Fishermen’s Catch in Raymond hosted a Lobster Harvest Day on October 24. Heavy downpours dampened the turnout so they ran the same specials on October 25. Fishermen’s Catch is donating 50 cents of each sale to Camp Sunshine—a retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses. They sold about 40 lobster rolls and about 500 pounds of lobster on October 24. They sold about 350 pounds on October 25. Organizers of the event said they were happy with it and would do it again next year.