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By PATRICK WHITTLE LLOCATEG + ..95 ST. GEORGE, Maine - The Canadian Maritimes have long dominated the lobster processing industry, but Maine officials are hoping an upcom ing bond referendum will allow the state to claw back the revenue, taxes and jobs it has been sending north of the border for years. Maine's lobster processing industry, virtually nonexistent a quarter century ago, has grown steadily in recent years, and state officials are taking notice. In 2013, Maine lob stermen caught 126 million pounds of lobster and Canada received nearly 60 million pounds from the state for pro cessing. Industry officials say they need more money and manpower to ensure the state can compete. “There's a multiplying effect because if the product is produced in Maine, then it’s generating work and dollars and taxes,” said Luke Holden, owner of Cape Seafood in es aco the November bond ref erendum would dedicate $7 million in public money to Maine seafood and lobster processing. Sen. Troy Jackson, 1. Allagash, said he threw his support behind the ref erendum after meeting with lobster industry workers, who told him the biggest barrier to adding value to Maine's lob ster industry is the state's lack of processors. “You can't have value added when all your processing is in Canada,” Jackson said. “It’s a big part of our economy and a big part of what we do in our state.” Maine’s lobster meat pro cessing industry consists of about 15 companies that processed about 20 million pounds of meat last year. Canada, meanwhile, has about 25 companies dotting provinces including New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and processed about 150 million pounds in 2013. The meat ends up in store bought products ranging from frozen tails to pre-packaged lobster rolls and salads. Canada’s industry gen erates about $600 million in export value every year, according to Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada. Maine officials declined to estimate the state's export value but agreed it’s much less, with less volume and much of the product shipped to Canada for processing. The push for more state side processing has not gone unnoticed in Canada. Jerry Amirault, president of the Lobster Processors Association of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, said as much as 75 percent of processed lobster ends up on the U.S. market, and Canadian processors feel a need to main tain their share of the produc tion. “We understand the inter dependency,’ Amirault said “It’s a change in circumstance.” Holden, of Cape Seafood, has seen the change develop over time. His father processed lobster in Maine 30 years ago when, he said, the industry had “not a lot of players, not a lot of sophistication, not a lot of rules or regulations.” Holden supports the push for the bond, “It keeps the work and the money in the state versus just catching the lobster in Maine and kicking them up to Canada, which is where the majority of process grade lob sters go,’ he said. In St. George, Kyle Murdock opened one of Maine's newest lobster pro cessing businesses — Sea Hag Seafood in 2010. The facil ity processed about 900,000 pounds of meat last year and will likely exceed 1 million in 2014, he said. Murdock said continued growth in Maine’s lobster pro cessing sector could be the key to the industry's future “It gives you more control of your product,” Murdock said. “The Maine taxpayer is spending their tax dollars to market a product that is pro cessed in Canada’
Newspaper Details
Biddeford Journal Tribune
Biddeford, Maine, US
Mon, Jun 23, 2014
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USA 21 Jul 2026
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