Glut of Maine Lobsters Keeps Local Prices Hovering Around $6 Per Pound

The price of lobsters in the state is dropping this summer, with some retailers selling them for as little as $4.98 per pound.

Warm weather has helped produce a glut of lobsters from Maine this year, where wholesale prices have reportedly dropped to as little as $1.25 per pound.

That’s prompted some fishermen there to keep their boats tied to the dock, the Wall Street Journal reports. For many lobstermen, when the price of their catch falls that low it’s not worth fishing for them.

The Maine glut has translated into lower retail prices throughout New England. At in the Shoppes at Hamilton Crossing, the price of lobster is $5.99 for chicken lobsters up to 1-1/4 pounds.

At Shaw's in North Beverly, chicken lobster are also selling for $5.99 per pound.

The Stop & Shop store in North Beverly does not sell live lobsters, but the price at the Stop and Shop on Elliott Street in Beverly is $5.99 for chicken lobsters and $7.99 for those over 1-1/4 pound, up to two pounds.

The Maine lobsters that make up the glut resulted from the unusually warm winter that saw lobsters in Maine shedding and growing new shells sooner than normal. Those softer-shelled lobsters could have less meat than harder-shelled lobsters from say, Canada, where the water temperatures are colder.