Boston Lobster Company Survives

When I first heard about James Hook & Co. lobster business going up in flames I thought to myself “the owners probably torched it on purpose.” It’s expensive to be in the lobster business in New England these days. Not only are gas prices making it expensive to run the lobster boats, but it’s also caused the bait to shoot up in price as well. Here’s an interesting article on lobster boat builders.
The lobster catch in Maine was down 15% last year, which only adds to the headache. Two brothers, John and Brendan Ready have come up with a new business model to try to combat the cost.

“If you want to be here for 40 years, you can't keep doing something the same way, hoping it's going to change,” Brenden Ready said.

Their new plan is called Catch a Piece of Maine. For $3,000 you get your own lobster trap for the year and every lobster caught gets FedExed to your home. Click here to listen to the story.
I’ve been following the James Hook & Co. and the more I read the more I think it might have been an accident. They were back selling fresh lobsters yesterday and have been working out of temporary quarters. They say they plan to rebuild on the historic site and keep the 83-year-old family company alive. It’s easy to be cynical these days and I hope my first instinct doesn’t come true.

<i>MaineBusiness.com</i>