Lobsters on move; FAA lifts cargo ban September important season for fishermen

PORTLAND – It will be easier for Maine’s lobster industry to get its product to market now that the Federal Aviation Administration has lifted a ban on cargo on passenger planes.

Millions of pounds of live lobsters are shipped throughout the country by commercial jet. With the nation’s air transportation system hobbled in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks, movement of perishable commodities was hindered.

The Federal Aviation Administration had restricted passenger airlines from carrying most cargo – the primary method used by wholesalers shipping live lobsters to faraway buyers.

The ban was lifted Monday, according to FAA spokesman Fraser Jones. He said cargo would be subject to heightened security measures.

While the FAA ban has been removed, airlines still may impose their own additional security measures.

At $188 million a year, lobster is Maine’s most valuable fishery. September is an important month for lobstermen because demand typically is strong, prices stable and the catch good.

Millions of pounds of lobster are processed and frozen, and vast quantities also move by truck. Before the ban was lifted, small quantities of live lobster were able to move as airfreight on overnight carriers such as Federal Express.

Those air freight carriers resumed service last week.

Patrice Farrey, associate director of the 1,200-member Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said she heard the news Tuesday from the office of U.S. Rep. John Baldacci. The Maine Democrat had been working with the FAA on securing ways to move lobsters and other cargo in passenger planes.

Farrey said it was getting easier for the industry to ship lobster as more time passed since the terrorist attacks.

Cargo on passenger jets is particularly important because that is the method used to move the industry’s higher-priced products, she said.

“Everyday there’s more opportunity to move stuff,” she said.

Wholesale prices are down 20 cents to 60 cents a pound for fishermen over the past few days, the association said.

Wholesale prices had dropped below $3 a pound in some areas. Retail prices were holding steady, some dealers said, between $4.29 and $4.99 on the Portland waterfront.