Will Chinese Market Prove Lucky Or Lethal For Maine Lobstermen?

PORTLAND, Maine — Neville Perryman, a lobsterman who hauls traps in the waters off the coast of Australia, sells his catch for the equivalent of $31.60 per pound on the beaches of China.

That’s almost 10 times what a lobsterman working in Maine waters gets for his catch, and it makes the populous Asian country look like an awfully attractive place to sell Maine lobster. But entering into the Chinese market is a high-stakes game that, if lobstermen and distributors from the Pine Tree State don’t play right, could be lethal for their businesses.

“China is an amazing place,” said Perryman, who visited Maine last year as part of an international delegation of lobster dealers. “To trade there is like trading with 30 different countries instead of one. So imagine the logistics.”

On Friday, a contingent of Maine delegates, representing seafood distribution and processing firms, was scheduled to return home after a weeklong trip to China, where they met with importers and chefs in multiple locations and networked at the annual Asian Seafood Exposition in Hong Kong.

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