Lobster Scarcity Leads To Price Spikes

Nothing spells summer like a steamed lobster dripping with butter, served with fresh corn on a deck overlooking sparkling East End waters.

But crustacean lovers have been suffering from a bit of sticker shock in recent months as a cold winter, icy Canadian waters and other factors, including international demand, have led to a skyrocketing prices — between $15 to $17 per lb. on the East End, according to Southold Fish Market owner Charlie Manwaring.

Lobster lovers agree, as they bemoan the pricey decadence of a lobster roll: On the South Fork, lobster salad is reportedly selling for more than $89 a lb.

"Right now, they're expensive. This is the most we've ever paid in winter that I remember," Manwaring said. But, he said, prices will start to fall soon.

"Historically, they do go down in price," he said. "If there are a lot around, the price is cheap. If not, the price will stay strong. It's supply and demand."

Foreign trade, he said, has sent scores of lobster overseas; coupled with a cold winter and ice in Canada, the lobster landscape has been lacking, Manwaring said.

But now, Canada and Maine waters will soon be open. "Once that happens, things will ease up quite a bit," Manwaring said. "We hope."

Ken Homan, owner of Braun Seafood in Cutchogue, said the winter has been very cold. Also, he added, "April is always the worst month. The lobster are not yet moving, they're dormant."

Once waters get warmer and lobster start moving, prices will drop, Homan said. "It's purely natural, supply and demand. There's nothing odd about this."

Prices, Homan said, will drop soon, and through July; after July, prices will start to rise a bit as resources are depleted.

Right now, Homan said he's now paying $12 to $14 a lb., and that's the price for Braun. As the largest supplier on the East End, selling 15,000 lbs a week in the summer and supplying to between 600 and 700 fish markets, Homan knows the ebbs and flows of the season well.

Prices are expect to begin falling as soon as tomorrow, he said. "As soon as it heats up, and fishermen start catching them, prices will start dropping."

The dearth of lobster has affected the entire industry, with lobster selling for as much as $19 a lb. retail in Charlotte, NC recently, Homan said.

Alex Fausto, manager of The Seafood Shop in Wainscott, agreed lobster prices have been through the roof, hovering at $19.95 per lb. a week ago and now down to $17.95 a lb. for two-pounders. The normal sale of four, pound-and-a-quarter lobsters for around $50 isn't in effect right now; they're sold by the lb. due to the current higher prices, he said.

Fausto said he believes prices will go down after Mother's Day and said he agrees frozen Canadian waters have led to the shortage.

And when customers come in, hoping to indulge in the buttery goodness of lobster dinners, Fausto said he tells them straight away about the higher prices. "We don't want to surprise them when a lobster costs $40," he said. "People are saying, 'Sorry, next time.'"

Customers are delighted to learn that the prices for lobster rolls at The Seafood Shop are still the normal $18.

And, he said, better days are coming. "The summer is always less expensive," Fausto said.

Patch photo by Lisa Finn.