What's up with Lobster prices?

You may have been wondering what's up with lobster prices lately. Here's what's going on. There are a number of factors at play here.

 1. Local lobstering had slowed to a crawl in March and early April. A lot of local fisherman pull their traps and head south for the winter. A few weeks ago a lot of guys started setting gear out again. The catch is starting to increase.

 2. During the summer and fall, lobsters are placed into pounds and tubes to hold until the winter months when prices climb. Lobster pounds are entire bay's seperated from the ocean to keep lobsters. About a month ago, those resources had been depleted, causing there to be less product on the market - hence prices climb.
 

 3. April 20 started the opening of the Canadian lobster season. As you can see from the chart above, Newfoundland was the first to open. Other areas will continue to roll out over the next few months. This will add more product into the market and you will see lobster prices continue to fall.

4. The local catch will start to increase. Soon shedders ( soft shell lobsters ) will start being caught causing a split in price between hard shell and soft shell lobsters. This is when you will see a sharp decrease in lobster prices. Just in time for summer.

 That's it in a nut shell...

Maine Halibut Season is coming

Taylor Lobster is a direct buyer of Day Boat Halibut. With the season approaching quickly I thought I'd put out some information. out Season: Atlantic Halibut fishing in Maine's territorial waters ( out to 3 miles ) Begins at sunrise May 1, 2016 and ends at sunset June 30, 2016 Size limit: Halibut must be 41 inches from head to tail or 32 inches with head-off Possession limit: Commercial vessels may land no more than 25 halibut during the season. Tagging: Hallibut must be immediately tagged with an approved landing tag. The tag must be attached tightly around or through the tail just before the tail fin.\ Gear Type: It is only legal to fish Maine halibut with circle hooks. A max of 450 hooks per vessel.

What the %$#& ???

Have you noticed the price of haddock on the rise lately? It's not because of a mighty hurricane or and unusual amount of market pressure. It's because of a guy out of New Bedford Massachusetts. He owns one of New England's largest fishing fleets and has been fleecing America. I'll put the link at the bottom so you can read the Boston Globe story. You can't make this stuff up. Long story short- this guys was landing slow fish with strict quotas, reporting it as haddock and selling it to another guy in New York for cash. He's been making a fortune illegally...(ALLEGEDLY) It makes me wonder how many times over the years I've looked at a competitor's price on dabs or sole and wondered how it was even possible with the auction prices higher than their selling price. The writer of the Boston Globe article hits the nail on the head - the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

Click here to see the whole story

Up in the bushes....

     Sitting at my desk this morning, a local lobsterman strolls in to pick up his check. I've been in the business twenty plus years but what I was about to hear.... I didn't even understand.

Bret: " See you got a good chaaage of haaad shells"

Lobsterman: " Yuh, picked up thirty off a pair"

Bret: " You must be fishin up in the bushes"

Lobsterman: "Yuh, that's why they call em' sucka bugs. If you blow a line on yur boat yur out 4 or 5 days though"

 I'm nodding my head along with the conversation, but I'm thinking "WTF are they talking about?" After a short conversation with Bret after the lobsterman leaves I got a translation.

Bret:" I noticed you caught a lot more hard shells then normal last week."

Lobsterman:" Yes, I even caught 30 pounds in two traps in one spot"

Bret:" You must be fishing in tight against the shore"

Lobsterman:" Yes but that's why they call them sucka bugs - the lure of a good catch draws you in close to shore , but, when you're in less than 10 feet of water you run the risk of losing gear or trashing your boat."

Got it.

Glidden Points vs. ( a newcomer looking to bring it! )

    I buy a lot of oysters from a lot of different oyster farms. Every once in a while someone wants to challenge the king ( or in this case the queen ). This morning after listening to an excited oyster farmer extol the number of reasons his or her oysters were just as good if not better than the famed Glidden Points, I decided to take a look see...

    This was a little bit like the Manny Pacquiao - Floyd Mayweather fight. It didn't last long - and the winner was clear.
   As I slurped the Glidden it reminded me of that jovial moment as a kid when your mom took you to the beach for the first time. You run down the sand, splash through the waves, and dive into the first decent wave. Coming up for air, you realize you are  frigid and you've swallowed a bit of icy ocean water. Never the less, it's  glorious and the ocean water tasted like it was heaven sent. That's what I tasted this morning. The Glidden Point transported me back to a childhood memory of awesomeness.

   The challenger oyster was indeed a very good oyster and has come a long way through the years. I could eat them every day and be a happy camper.
     I often hear Glidden's glory spoke aloud from oyster connoisseurs. As a true American, I can grow skeptical when things are put too high on a pedistal. But damn.... Gliddens are one kick ass oyster.

A Big Fatty

   Oyster season is upon us. Those months with the letter "R" somewhere in the name.  For me, I like to eat oysters year round, however there is some truth to this saying. Pictured above is a big ol' fatty Whaleback from the Damariscotta river. It's nearly twice the size as it was two months ago and the meats fill the shell. 

  In the fall , oysters start packing on fat for the long winter just like bears do. The flavor profile changes along with the seasons as well. Just like kobe beef, more fat = more flavor.

Shuckapedia

Taylor Lobster Web - O - Mercial

Little Bitches...

   There's a controversy brewing in the oyster world. Should new oyster farms be named after the cove or river they are plucked from or should they be given an eye catching name that has nothing to do with the geography they are harvested near?
    For me, a bonafide #oystergeek, I love the crazy names like the Naked Cowboys, Moonstones, and even our own local New Hampshire oyster, Fat Dogs. Just recently, I found one that sets a new bar...Little Bitches. Little Bitches are put out by the Broadwater oyster company in Virginia.What was my first thought after seeing the oyster name Little Bitches? I have to try one of those.
     One of our best selling oysters is the Black Bear out of the Bagaduce river. This is a perfect example of how the name can make all the difference in the world. Both the Black Bears and Little Islands are both harvested out of the Bagaduce. They sell hand over fist. But... If you call them Bagaduce - they do not! ( Sound out the word Bag - a - duce and use your imagination )
   One of the coolest parts of my job this time of year is picking up the phone when a newly formed oyster farm calls wanting to sell us oysters. They need advice and what fun it is to collaborate on naming their farms. Recently we've entered into an agreement to distribute a new oyster out of Wells Maine. We talked for a while and he threw some names out at me. The first one was Kung - Fu Blondes! I was really surprised. At first, I thought, hmmm that may be going a bit overboard. So I quickly sent out about a dozen texts to some of the more oyster savvy chefs I deal with. Their response was unanimous. They all loved it. The next name on the list was for a different harvest site he had.  Pope's Creek Yetis. How imaginative is that. These oysters are only harvested from the icy waters of Wells Maine during the coldest months. You have to be half human and half yeti to accomplish this. The Kung - Fu Blondes have yet to be harvested, however, feast your eyes on the new Pope's Creek Yetis...

   Do you have a funky name idea for an oyster? Let's hear it!

2014 Great Bay Oyster Cheat Sheet

#oyster-snob

  I was talking to one of our customers the other day, giving her the low-down on the oysters that we have. I must have been going off on a tangent about good oysters vs bad oysters because suddenly I was shot with - " You're an oyster snob!" Woah... wait just a minute.
     At first, I'm thinking, what the heck do you mean I'm an oyster snob? Maybe I'm  too consumed with the oyster world and I need to get a life? As I pondered it the rest of the evening, I came to the conclusion that yes indeed, I am an oyster snob.

  So what is an oyster snob?

If you are constantly on a quest to find the perfect yin shaped oyster, 

you may be an oyster snob. 

If you won't eat an oyster from anywhere south of Connecticut,

you may be an oyster snob.  

If you hear the word Blue Point and hang up the phone,

you may be an oyster snob.   

If you will eat, but not really want to, an oyster from Canada

you may be an oyster snob.  

If you actually knew what I meant by yin shaped oyster,

you may be an oyster snob.  

If you claim Glidden Points to be the mother of all oysters,

you may be an oyster snob.  

If you roll your eyes watching someone grimace after slurping an oyster down,

 you may be an oyster snob.  

Ok...I think you get the drift.  I'll proudly wear the badge of oyster snob. Once you have worn the badge for a while, you may gain access to an even more exclusive club....

   

First sign of spring

     Drowning in a sea of snow. Looks like we're up for air now but tomorrow comes another storm. Then another ... and another...  (( The video looks blury but just push play - it's HD)

ENJOY!

Time to man up...

   Oysters...You either hate them or you love them. The haters are usually haters because they are afraid of the raw, squishy, live entity they are about to ingest. Those people are also known as pansies.
So here is proof that there is nothing to be afraid of.
     This is a video of a 5 year old girl in our Kittery retail store yesterday. Her mother tells Bret that the little girl loves oysters. Bret puts her to the test.
    If you have kids and they are anything like mine, a hundred dollar bill would still not entice them to try a raw oyster.  I have grown friends who are the same way. Time to man up haters!

Warning: A live Basket Island oyster was hurt in the making of this video.

I'm rich ! ! !

    Well maybe not super rich, but never the less, a nice little windfall. It may not be worth any money, but the experience will be put in my life experience bank forever.
     As many of you know, I eat oysters every day as a way of keeping connected to our oyster program. It allows me to look over our inventory or try an oyster I haven't had for a while. This morning I wanted to take a look at a new batch of Standard Shore Petites, one of my favorites. They've been sugary and fat the last month or so. So I randomly selected one and headed back to the office.  I grabbed my shucker, popped it open and down the hatch. Except this time I felt something. I thought it was a piece of the shell but when it landed in my hand - holy cow it was a pearl. 

Look to the future

    

      It's the time of year where most people are now getting their bills from their Christmas purchases. Hence the tumbleweeds are blowing through the streets and people are battening down the hatches. Now is a good time to let you know what we are working on here at Taylor Lobster.

    For starters, some of you may have noticed our salmon prices falling. This isn't because the market for salmon is faltering. It's because we are now a direct buyer of Chilean salmon from the source. Usually, salmon makes it way through a half a dozen middle men before it reaches the end user. We've managed to cut those people out.
     Salmon producers are particular about who they will do business with. Your company must be a top tier credit rated company. Taylor, is one of those companies.
     We are partnered with Patagnoia Sea Farms. Patagnoia is BAP Certified ( Best Aquaculture Practices), BRC certified, GlobalGap Certified, ISO certified, and ISF certified. That's a lot of certifications! You can be confident knowing you are buying the highest quality salmon when you buy from Taylor. In addition you are getting a cost effective product that will help you exceed your customer's expectations and increase your revenue. Ask me about our new case pricing as well. If you are a heavy volume user, we can help you with that.

    A lot of my time is spent sourcing oysters and expanding our oyster operation. Currently I am working on a Google map that will pinpoint where each farm is located that we represent. It will be uploaded to Shuckapedia.com, our oyster knowledge website, when it is ready. If you haven't been to shuckapedia.com, go check it out. It gives a synopsis of each of the oysters you buy from Taylor Lobster Company. There are a few new oysters on the horizon. Two new ones from Maine and one new one from New Hampshire. Those will be kept under wraps until we take first delivery this spring. It's very exciting.

 

  .

     We have also secured a direct buy with one of the finest shrimp companies in the United States. We have leveraged our buying power to bring you an extremely high quality shrimp at a reduced cost.  These are a high quality , white shrimp with a sweet flavor and noticeable snap. We are carrying peeled and deveined  tail on sizes 8-12 to 21-25 and tail off sizes 31-40 to 90-110. We offer secured contract pricing on all of our Censea shrimp, as well as a 10 case pricing structure. These pricing programs offer you a significant savings if you are able to store at least 100 pounds of frozen product comfortably.

     

What's going on with oysters?

     I thought I'd dedicate a few words to the Oyster world. A lot of folks have been asking me about how long we will have certain oysters. Here's my thoughts for the morning.
     Over the next few days we will be getting in the last of the Fat Dog oyster farm product. Some Moose Coves and a few Abenaki, which are small bottom cultured oysters. It looks like Abenaki will be a staple item next season.  Goat Island and Virgin oysters are out of inventory for the year. We will see them back in the spring. Let's hope they all winter well.  Ray Grizzle from Wagon Hill oysters farm still has inventory and will harvest as long as weather permits. Wagon Hills and Little Grizzlies will be on tap, no more Granite Mountains until next season. Bay Point and Choice have been closed for about a month now.
   Looking to Maine, we have been fortunate to have a mild start to the winter letting some of the southern and mid-coast oyster companies remain ice free. Little Island and Black Bears out of the Bagaduce are done as of a few weeks ago. Glidden, Glidden Wilds, Cape Blues, Norembega and Hog Island are done for the year. We should see them back in April or May depending on the weather. Pemaquid, Wiley and North Haven are still able to harvest weather permitting. Further south in the Casco Bay area, Flying point and Basket Island still have a lot in the system and we should see them well into the winter.
      That's the story for local oysters. We will carry as many of those as possible and add in some Massachusetts oysters here and there. We have a very good source for Mass and West Coast oysters if there is something anyone would want for something special i.e. Chelsea gems, Kumomotos etc..
One oyster that will probably make the Taylor Lobster team is the Standish Shore Petite. As some of you know, it is my current all time favorite oyster and it is priced right. I'm hoping to carry it for the rest of the season. Wellfleets may also win a home here as well.
    I'm sure we will start to see more and more Canadian oysters creep into inventory like Beau Soleil and Malpeques as well . The Malpeques will most likely drop off for us sometime soon.

Set it free...

   Whenever I hear a story about tourists dumping live lobsters over the side of a cruise ship...I shake my head.  In their zeal to set them free they don't consider the salinity or water temperature that they are putting these cold water creatures into. Ultimately sending them to their death in a much slower way than a pot of boiling water.
    I started packing lobsters to ship all over the world, to waiting pots of boiling water, when I was twenty years old. My concern for their freedom started to fade around one million lobsters shipped. I'd guess I'm easily at the ten million mark at this point in my life.
    Something strange happened the other day though. Remember the story about the calico lobster that was one in thirty million that we found? Well, we sent it to Chicago and they, in turn, donated it to the Shedd Aquarium to live out it's days. I thought, wow, we were part of a chain of events that will touch a lot of people down the line. When the story is told about how it was "saved", somewhere in there, Taylor Lobster will be part of it.
     Then guess what? A few days later we found another calico lobster. (  I guess it's more like one in thirty thousand then one in thirty million) This time, We decided to keep it local. We sent it to Robert's,  a local restaurant that has a display tank as you walk in the door. We thought it would be interesting for the local public to get a peek at it.  Wednesday morning, I got a series of photos in a text...

   That's right...they let it go!  +Brandon Blethen is pictured above releasing the lobster.The pardoning of these unique lobsters is a great holiday story. We were all very happy to be part of it. I do admit though, it did felt a bit odd telling this story over Christmas dinner  - lobster newburgh...

Salt of the Earth

   Meet Steve Taylor. Steve spawned our fearless leaders, Bret and Sam Taylor. Steve is a second generation lobsterman from Kittery Maine and captains the F/V Janet and Samantha, a thirty-six foot lobster boat. If you have bought lobsters from Taylor Lobster Company, you most likely have bought Steve's lobsters somewhere along the line.You'll also notice the Janet and Samantha is the mast head of our weekly price list!

   Take a boat ride off the rugged coast of Kittery and you're sure to spot the distinctive colors of his lobster bouys. Black and yellow, like giant bumble bees bobbing in the icy cold ocean. Braving the rough wintery weather of Maine, Steve tends his 800 lobster traps year round.

Diamond Tuna

  Thursday morning- the frenzy of Christmas preparation is starting. Restaurants and customers are gearing up for the insanity. The photo above is not color corrected- this is really what this tuna looks like. I've seen a lot of tuna over the years and every time a really diamond one comes through the door, I'm always awe struck.

Look what we found

    How often do you come across a calico lobster? Every 30 million lobsters you go through, you'll find just 1.  A combined 75 years of shuffling lobsters and none of us has ever seen one.
" I just pulled him out of a crate of run" Bob says, as he walks into the office.
    What causes this color phase? Most color phased lobsters are caused by genetic changes, specifically the overproduction of a certain protein. However, calico lobsters have not been studied as extensively as say a blue lobster because of their rarity. This guy is on his way to Chicago today. I'm guessing there will be a crowd of people watching the opening of this box!