Lobster now less expensive than hot dogs

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Platapus

The article did not go far enough about why the demand is so low.

Could it be because of the terribly high prices and the very small servings that many of the restaurants charge for lobster?

Yes, actually, that's exactly right. Of course, in a healthy economy, people have disposable income to waste on semi-delicacies like lobster, which makes demand go up.

I, for one, was quite discouraged when we ordered lobster, paid a very high price and got what appeared to be just a very large shrimp.

I wouln't even give it that much credit. Imo, shrimp tastes a lot better, even if it is still kind of pricey.

I feel, that in some cases, the demand is down because people are sick of being ripped off by lobster so they no longer order it. At least that is why I don't any more.

This is not some phenomenon where people suddenly realized that lobster is expensive and simultaneously decided that they didn't like it anymore, it is a perfectly normal function of supply and demand. They have less money, so they spend less on frivolous goods.

Demand for lobster is probably just as high as it usually is, although I can't understand the demand for it, personally. It's too bad that so many people aren't as practical-minded as you. I imagine that people usually pay premium prices for lobster for the same reason that they pay premium prices for fish eggs or squid-flesh; there is a perceived value in its' rarity, if not its' palatability.

[geetrue]

Lobster taste a lot better when it's free ...

I was stationed in Portland, Maine back in the mid-sixties we had our own lobster traps. The cook put lobster on the menu all the time.

The captain came back to the ship late one night and asked me for my 45 (I was standing topside watch).

What are you suppose to do ... he's the captain, right?

He says, clip?

I gave him the clip ... he loads it and starts firing at a lobster bouy too close to the ship. He hands the 45 back and says, "It wasn't one of ours" and goes on board.

Now I have to explain why I have an empty clip to the next watch. So I wrote it all down in the log and slept tight.

No one ever said anything ...