Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. X X V O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 24 M I D C O A S T / D OW N E A S T F O C U S S tonington lobster fisherman John Williams usually hauls his boat out in February for annual main- tenance and paint in preparation for the start of the spring fishing season. "en COVID started," he says. e health emergency was worsening and the economy shutting down. at included one of the lobster industry's biggest markets — restaurants. e large cruise ship and casino markets also slammed shut. International freight and shipping to China, emerging as a large consumer of lobster, had nearly stopped. "I got thinking about it and said, 'is doesn't look very good. We won't have any market,'" Williams says. Dealers were saying they couldn't move product. Williams almost removed his traps from the water. en one dealer — a family member — said he could use a few lobsters. So Williams called his regular dealer. "I said, 'What' going on?'" he remem- bers. "He said, 'I'll take them.' In two weeks, things changed." Finding new markets e Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative and individual dealers scrambled to find new retail markets — catering to home chefs, advertising on consumer media outlets such as Real Simple and rillist, and building on existing relationships with grocers. e collaborative developed media content on how to cook lobster, how to shuck lobster — all the things that might be handled at a restaurant. Since summer's start, there's been a flurry of lobster consumption through direct-to-consumer sales online and in grocery stores, says Hugh Reynolds, owner of Greenhead Lobster, a Stonington lobster dealer- ship. Reynolds leveraged relation- ships with retailers that wanted to promote more lobster, including value-added products he was devel- oping at a Bucksport processing plant he opened last year. e consumers were home cooks and folks craving a night out when restau- rants started outdoor seating. "People had not had a night out in months and lobster seemed to be the 'home treat' of choice," Reynolds writes on his blog. "And when people did start to go out, New England-style lobster shacks across the country were the ideal setting for an outdoor meal. Lobster rolls are a good 'take-out' option and a classic summer meal, and the demand has been there despite the challenges." "e big pivot seems to have been into retail and into direct-to-consumer sales," says Patrice McCarron, execu- tive director of the Maine Lobstermen's Association. "It was difficult to compre- hend how lobster would go into retail in a meaningful enough way to make up for the lack of restaurants and food service. But it appears that sector has grown significantly and has accounted for a bigger market share than it has traditionally been, and it seems to be a fairly stable segment." "I give credit to the dealers," says Stonington fisherman Frank Gotwals. "ey really made an effort to move toward home sales and supermarkets." Stunning value For Stonington, the shift is mean- ingful. With a population just over 1,000, according to the 2010 census, its harbor is home to between 300 and 400 fishing vessels, each run as an independent business by its captain and employing one or two stern men. e small Hancock County village, on the south end of Deer Isle, is Maine's biggest lobster fishing port. Along its winding main road are traditional seafood dealer wharfs, views of the sea and islands, and a tiny down- town featuring bed-and-breakfasts, the early-20th-century Stonington Opera House and a granite museum displaying artifacts of the quarries once a big driver of the local economy. Today, the lobster fishery is Stoning- ton's economic engine. "Stonington is kind of unique," says Town Manager Kathleen Billings. "We're closest to the fishing grounds." In addition to direct jobs, lobster- ing is twined into the community's larger economy. Lobster rolls on After an uncertain start to the season, lobster markets are picking up B y l a u R i e s C h R e i B e R John Williams is one of the Stonington lobstermen who has seen his business change as the industry pivoted to new markets. P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D Tourists go to Bar Harbor to see the park, they go north to see the moose and they come here to see the lobstermen. — Kathleen Billings Stonington town manager Home cooks T he economic shutdown in March gave the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative time to develop new marketing content before summer harvesting ramped up and well before the peak of the harvest season, which starts in the fall. In the past, campaigns focused on restaurant consumption. This year, the goal was to reach people who wanted to prepare lobster at home but didn't know how. A new home cooks hub provides recipes and videos. Visits to the "Shipped to Your Home" page increased 245% comparing July 2020 to July 2019. The collaborative is also working with distributors and retailers to set up store promotions and retail ads and digital materials about lobster.

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