All shell, no shock: Lobster prices strong, season picks up

PORTLAND, Maine – New England’s lobster industry faces big new challenges in selling the seafood to Europe and China, but the trouble hasn’t caused prices to budge much for American consumers.

The lobster business is in the midst of its busiest part of the year, when tourists flock to coastal states with a beachside lobster dinner in mind. It’s also when prices tend to fall a bit because it’s when the majority of lobsters are caught.

But prices haven’t fallen much. Retailers are selling live lobsters in the $7 to $12 per pound (per 0.45 kilogram) range in Maine, where the lobster industry is based. That’s not too far behind recent summers.

Members of the industry have voiced concerns about new tariffs applied this month by China, a big buyer for American lobster.