OTTAWA — Lobsters do not respect the lines on maps that define the Canada-United States border. They traverse the seabed contentedly munching on herring from New England to Newfoundland.
For the lobstermen up top, the international boundary is very real and respected. But there has been more cross-border tension as both sides struggle to find ways to earn more in an era of record harvests that are lowering the prices they get.
Last year, Canadian lobstermen, angry about a surge in low-cost imports from Maine, briefly blocked lobster-laden trucks from entering Canadian plants, raising charges of threats and intimidation in Maine. That was followed this year by a strike for higher prices in Canada, one swiftly undermined by the tactical error of lobstermen setting their traps before tying up their boats. On the other side of the border, Maine lobstermen and the state’s governor fear that the state’s new $2.4 million marketing plan to help lobstermen will be undermined by trade rules that transform most Maine lobsters into a Canadian product.
The surfeit of lobsters has pushed prices that fishermen get down to levels not seen in decades, as low as $1.20 a pound this summer in some parts of Maine, from a 10-year average price of just under $4. Much of that decline has not been passed along to consumers feasting on lobster rolls or a whole steaming crustacean. Lobster can go for $15 a pound at a grocery store.
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