Maine lobstermen optimistic about summer catch

A sea of red tide is causing problems for clam diggers, but Maine’s lobstermen are guardedly optimistic about the upcoming season.

Despite the cold winter and miserable spring, lobstermen have been surprised to see signs of an earlier start than last year, and there seems to be a healthy number of juvenile lobsters growing to maturity on the ocean floor.

Arnie Gamage of South Bristol says it is hard to figure out. The cold spring seemed to cause a late start for everything – except lobsters.

“The movement of lobster has been on time or a little early,” said Gamage, who has been fishing for 40 years. “Why? I have no idea.”

A late start last year and in 2003 had some lobstermen worrying about whether the boom years were coming to an end. Instead, they ended up fishing into November and December and finishing with a record haul, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Pat White of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association said no one knows why they were late or why signs point toward an earlier start this year. Sometimes, it doesn’t pay to try to figure out the habits of Maine’s most valuable sea creature.

“We can’t figure out how to outsmart an animal with no brain,” said White, a lobsterman based in York Harbor.

Lobster is not affected by red tide, the toxic algae bloom that has hurt the clam and mussel industry from Maine to Massachusetts.

Maine’s and Massachusetts’ governors have declared an economic emergency for their respective shellfish industries, making clam diggers and others eligible for low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration.

It’s unclear whether wariness about shellfish and higher shellfish prices will have any impact on the lobster industry.

For now, the boat price for lobster is about $5.50 per pound, and reports of an earlier start than last year have raised optimism.

“Guys are kind of upbeat. Anything would be better than last year,” when the heaviest lobster catch didn’t begin until August, White said.

When the lobsters will begin moving in traps in big numbers is anyone’s guess. Many lobstermen set their traps in the spring, but it’s usually not until later in the summer that they begin attracting large numbers of lobsters.

The prevailing wisdom is that cold water keeps lobsters in deeper water in the spring and limits their movement.