Lobster Season Slow, Prices Holding Steady For Seafood Fans

PORTLAND, Maine - New England's summer lobster season is off to a slow start, but consumers are still paying a little bit less for the critters than they were a year ago.
 
Lobster fishermen and distributors say the annual summer boom in lobster catch is yet to arrive. Lobster catch typically picks up when many lobsters shed their shells and reach legal harvesting size.
 
Supply is lower than recent years. However, that hasn't translated into higher prices for consumers. Business publisher Urner Barry says the wholesale price for 1 1/4-pound hard shell lobsters is $7.63 per pound. The price was a little more than $8 per pound at this time last year.
 
Members of Maine's lobster industry say they still expect a healthy catch this year, but it appears to be arriving somewhat late.