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January 7, 2013

Lobster haul hits peak as prices scrape bottom

Preliminary figures show Maine's lobster industry took in a record-breaking catch in 2012, but an 18-year low in dock prices tempered the benefit of the haul.

The Bangor Daily News reported that this year's catch totaled 123.3 million pounds in early figures from the state's Department of Marine Resources. That breaks a record set last year of 105 million pounds.

But the total dockside value is estimated to be nearly $3.7 million lower, at $331 million, than last year. In 2005, Maine's lobster industry generated $320 million from just 70 million pounds.

While the lobster industry continues to take in record harvests, groundfish catches throughout the Northeast are coming in low. That fishery faces the potential of new quotas, The Associated Press reported.

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