PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 23, 2020
With many restaurants shuttered, and typical export pipelines closed, demand for lobster and other Maine seafood is way down, leaving Maine’s $674 million-a-year commercial fishing industry scrambling to find new markets and short-term economic relief to survive the pandemic. The pandemic has forced the closure of almost one out of three restaurants. This comes on the heels of the $485 million-a-year Maine lobster industry’s struggle to replace the market it lost in the trade war with China and Canada’s sweet trade deal with the European Union. The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative is shifting its focus to drive demand among those who can still buy lobster through retail outlets like grocery stores, seafood markets and direct delivery: home cooks.