How large is too large in Maine? Five inches on the carapace, LaCroix said, or about 5 pounds. Which makes sense, I suppose, except that I had trouble finding lobsters that were even 2 1/2 pounds. According to LaCroix, Maine fishermen do catch those bigger lobsters, but seafood dealers "tend to sell those larger lobsters into high-end markets where they'll command the highest price, such as major metro markets and overseas markets."
The lobsters that stay in Maine are therefore smaller. At Fisherman's Catch Seafood Market in Damariscotta right now, the lobsters exist in three weight classes: 1 1/4-pounders (hard shell, $7.99 a pound), 1 1/2-pounders ($8.99), and "jumbo," which is apparently anything above that and costs $9.99 a pound. (Soft-shell lobsters were cheaper by $2 a pound in each weight class.)
At Cape Tip Seafood, in Truro, MA, meanwhile, the range was broader. The smallest hard-shell lobsters available were 1 1/2 pounds, and cost $8.95 per pound, said manager Donna Twerago. Here again, 5 pounds was the dividing line. Above it, the hard-shells cost a mere $6.95 per pound.
As LaCroix pointed out, however, Maine's conservation effort "seems to be working, because we have had record catches for the past several years." In 2011, she added, "Maine landed over 104 million pounds of lobster while Massachusetts landed just over 13 million pounds."
So: bigger, cheaper, and possibly less sustainable? Or smaller, dearer, and more staunchly conservationist? Frankly, I'm torn--but luckily, I don't have to make a decision right away: I'm not taking a vacation to either place this year.
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