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Tired of old tom turkey? Maybe a lobster will do.

Posted by bdaley November 24, 2008 06:43 AM

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

If you've been anywhere near Maine lobstermen lately, there are long faces and grim stories of plunging prices and empty pockets.

The world's economic crisis is causing the budget conscious to cut back on 'luxury" items like lobster. Canadian companies who buy much of Maine's catch, are also short on credit and have not been able to buy as much as they normally do.

The end result is dismal prices for the fishermen. Many lobstermen began pulling in traps for the year two months ago or are only setting a fraction of what they have.


lob.jpg
this....

A Bangor woman wants to change all that.

The Bangor Daily News had a piece recently about Julia Munsey who began a national campaign to get U.S. residents to buy lobster instead of turkey to help the beleagured industry.

,..."if everybody did it, it could really make a difference,'' Munsey told the newspaper. She says even if you can't give up the turkey tradition, make a lobster bisque, seafood casserole or appetizer with the crustacean.

turk.jpg or this?

Will you trade in your turkey for lobster?

For more info on the effort, go to www.lobstercelebrations.com

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12 comments so far...
  1. Our family gathering is having turkey on Thursday, lobster on Friday. Best of both worlds!

    Posted by D Brooks November 24, 08 10:30 AM
  1. With all due respect, this article in no way should be included on the "Green Blog". Eating turkey isn't any worse than depleting the lobster stocks in the ocean...greenwashing at it's best...

    Posted by Joe November 24, 08 02:13 PM
  1. My family is also having lobster on Monday, turkey on Thursday.

    Posted by R. Mack November 24, 08 02:26 PM
  1. Thanksgiving would not be the same without turkey, although there is always the weekend and day after Thanksgiving to enjoy lobster

    Posted by D. Ryba November 24, 08 02:28 PM
  1. It is a shame what has happened to the lobster industry but I am not sure I feel completely bad for them. Lobster prices have been ridiculously high for so long leaving the middle class and below unable to enjoy their bounty. Now they want everyone to jump on board and bail them out too. Sorry but I can remember many a Christmas Eve growing where we woulld have to go without our traditional, once a year lobster dinner because the price would shoot up ever so curiously around the holidays, leaving our middle class family unable to afford enough Lobster to feed a family of 10!! Now you can feast on your lobster until you puke, id rather eat turkey.

    Posted by Anthony November 24, 08 05:36 PM
  1. Lets have Lobster this Thanksgiving!

    Posted by Rayorciuch@townisp.com November 24, 08 05:44 PM
  1. I don't know about lobster...there is just something about falling asleep at 3pm in my recliner while the Detroil Lions are getting hammered...again.... with the sweet smell of the turkey dinner in the air, that just ain't gonna cut it if we have lobster. We have lobster every summer at the beach cottage in Maine, and it takes 2 days to get that lobster smell off my skin even when I scrub and scrub with soap.

    Sorry, but the smell of lobster just ain't the same as turkey ....

    Posted by Mr. George November 24, 08 06:20 PM
  1. Supposedly the Pilgrims served lobster at the first Thanksgiving. As a Mainer, I feel that we should support our local lobstermen and their families who are trying to make a decent living..

    Posted by Sally Tomkins November 24, 08 09:29 PM
  1. While the prices are better now, earlier in the year lobsters were $15 a pound and now turkeys 47 cents a pound. I'd love to go with lobster and chowder for any meal but given the economy it's hard to choose one lobster for the same price as a 30 pound turkey.

    Posted by BR November 24, 08 11:04 PM
  1. We are having lobster for Thanksgiving! We live in Maine and are looking forward to supporting the local economy!

    Posted by LH November 25, 08 08:23 AM
  1. Hey Joe, no one is "depleting the lobster stocks in the ocean." Maine has minimum and maximum size requirements for the catch that ensure that once a lobster reaches optimal breeding size they must be returned to the ocean if they are caught. Massachusetts did not have a maximum size until recently. Also a fisherman that catches an egg-bearing female lobster within the legal size can notch the tail, preventing that lobster from being taken for several years. Many fishermen actually do this. The Maine lobster industry has actually done a good job of maintaining a substainable fishery.

    Posted by Jeff D. November 25, 08 09:02 AM
  1. if we all buy lobster then what will happen to our poor turkey industry ;)

    Posted by TurkeyFarmer November 25, 08 12:16 PM
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