LINCOLNVILLE (NEWS CENTER Maine)-- While fishermen on Maine's coast are concerned about stricter foreign tariffs on their product, rising bait herring prices are compounding the pinch on their pockets.
According to the latest data from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the average price per pound of bait herring has tripled in the last ten years, going from $0.12 in 2008 to roughly $0.36 per pound today. Plus, less herring is being caught. Data from the DMR shows the least amount of herring caught last year since 2010. And those in the industry say lobster prices haven't increased enough to offset the bait prices.
"The cost of bait's gone up, the cost of labor's gone up, boats, equipment, everything else has gone up, but the cost of lobster really hasn't gone up," said Raymond Young, owner of Young's Lobster Pound in Belfast, Maine.
In nearby Lincolnville, fishermen said they're paying $575 for a standard crate of bait herring, and go through at least one crate a day. Lobster fisherman Richie Osgood said it's expensive to maintain, "Most boats when they bait up and leave the dock in the morning, they're several hundred dollars backwards."
Lobstermen also worry the price of bait herring will continue to skyrocket next year. The New England Fishery Management council announced last month a plan to cap catch quota on herring for the next three years.