Is Maine Lobster Better?

The Maine Lobster Council claims on their website that, “The World’s Finest Lobster Comes from Maine”. In August of 2006 they started a program of affixing sticky labels (don’t get me started on sticky labels) identifying Maine lobsters which were destined for out-of-state delivery as “Certified Maine lobster”. There was quite a backlash. It didn’t help that the then MLC executive director, Kristin Millar said,

“Make sure your lobster is from Maine, don’t buy an impostor lobster.”

from ROBERT F. BUKATY/The Associated Press

This example of uncharacteristic Maine arrogance prompted an editorial in the Boston Globe by Brian Mcgrory on 18 Aug, 2006 titled, “Tasty Testing”, in which he ruthlessly and rightfully ridiculed the remark. Mr. Mcgrory even went so far as to do his own double blind study involving two groups of lobsters, one from Maine and the other from Massachusetts, and some Boston area chefs. (This is the kind of research I like.) The chefs chose the Massachusetts lobster as often as the Maine lobster, basically a tie. The conclusion was that Massachusetts lobster was a little sweeter, Maine saltier and with a stronger flavor. Mcgrory sums it up with,

So in a scientific study, it comes out a tie, reason enough to ignore Maine’s obnoxious stunt.

Well, I would much prefer Maine to not have a reputation for obnoxious people than have a faux better lobster. After all, there is no state line on the sea floor which lobsters cross at their peril, becoming instantly less flavorful. The whole idea is pretty silly.

To be fair I went to the MLC website to see if they backed up their claim. The closest they get to it is to state that the American lobster, Homarus americanus, which they have unilaterally renamed the “Authentic Maine Lobster”, is better because all the rest “are merely wannabes” (like the Caribbean spiny lobster), “have no claws and thus no delectable claw meat.” No claims about how our waters are cleaner or colder. In fact, since the Massachusetts lobster is also Homarus americanus, it is therefore, “Authentic Maine Lobster”, so using our powers of logic, those lobsters caught by Massachusetts are really OUR lobsters who have strayed over two state lines.

Now that I have thrashed the Maine MLC, let’s revisit the subject without obnoxious marketing slogans or annoying food stickers. Is Maine lobster better? My answer is a qualified yes, for this simple reason: Our sustainability. Maine is on track to obtain approval from the England-based Marine Stewardship Council (M.S.C.) to be certified as sustainable. This process is long and expensive and is almost over, with certification expected in 2011. We must be doing something right. I go into the reasons here. Maine Lobster fishers are plentiful and inefficient. This is a good thing; many folks are employed and the wealth of the industry is more or less equitably distributed. There are very few poverty-line sweat-shop lobster jobs. The inefficiency means that it takes more jobs to bring lobster to your table than it would if giant factory ships dragged massive baskets across the sea floor. And above all, the resource is respected and well managed. Even the ropes used on traps have been recently replaced at great cost to prevent entanglement with right whales. So you can feel good about eating Maine lobster. I’m not claiming Massachusetts or New Brunswick lobster tastes inferior in any way, just that Maine lobster has a lot going for it. Without stickers.

For a short video about sustainability in the Maine lobster industry click here.

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