No replies to this topic

[Nvyseal]

At a wholesale price of $2.25, the once costly crustacean is a treat for consumers but a crisis for Maine lobstermen.

Looking for an inexpensive change-up for your next backyard barbeque? Try lobster. "Per pound, it's less expensive than hot dogs right now," grumbles lobster-boat captain Mike Dassatt, who fishes the coast near Belfast, Maine, with his wife Sheila.

You won't hear many complaints from lobster-loving tourists in Bar Harbor or Kennebunkport, but the Maine lobster fishery is coping with the steepest price decline in generations. All around the globe, the lousy economy is having a devastating impact on demand for luxury goods, and the Maine lobster may well be the Mercedes-Benz of food.

Restaurant demand for lobster is down 30% to 35%, versus 10% to 15% for other seafood, reports Michael Tourkistas, CEO of Lynn, Mass., seafood distributor East Coast Seafoods. "Lobster is considered a celebration food -- a feel-good food -- and right now people don't have a lot to celebrate," says Tourkistas.

Read on at Yahoo Finance