1 5 .80- 



I.IO- 



1.00- 



.60- 



.50- 



ACTUAL 

 • PREDICTED 



^ -- -.06324 -.00503 (^]+.0005l^^ j 



I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 



1950 



1955 



I960 



1965 



1969 



C 



N 



ff = PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION OF ALL LOBSTERS 



CPI 



REAL EX-VESSEL PRICE { OR ACTUAL 

 EX-VESSEL PRICE OF LOBSTERS DIVIDED BY 

 CPI (1967 = 100) 



i- = REAL DISPOSABLE INCOME PER CAPITA 

 N 



Figure 9. — Actual and predicted per capita consumption of all lobsters, 1950-69. 



Since 1946 when the first frozen whole lobsters were 

 marketed similar products of varying degrees of ac- 

 ceptability have been processed and sold in the less 

 accessible market areas of the United States and in 

 Europe. 



Frozen lobster tails, which are mostly foreign im- 

 ports, are consumed most heavily in the Middle Atlan- 

 tic region. Per capita consumption of lobster tails in 

 the Middle Atlantic is 1.6 times the U.S. average for 

 at-home consumption, and the area accounts for 29 

 percent of the total consumed in the U.S. The East 

 North Central states consumed 27 percent of the U.S. 

 total, and their per capita rate is about 1.4 times the 

 national average. The East South Central region also 

 is a major market for lobster tails, and accounts for 16 

 percent of the total consumed at home (Fig. 11). 



Not surprisingly, consumption of frozen lobster tails 

 is low in New England, what with the availability of 

 local supplies of American lobsters. Consumption also 



is low (almost insignificant) in the West Central states, 

 both North and South. Beyond this belt, however, 

 lobster tail consumption picks up considerably and in 

 the Mountain areas the per capita rate is 1.5 times the 

 national average. There are also significant quantities 

 consumed in the Pacific states, which account for 8 

 percent of the U.S. total, although the per capita rate 

 is only 61 percent of the national average in that area. 



D. Costs and Earnings of Lobster Boats. 



(1) Data Source — Data are not collected on a 

 systematic basis on the earnings of lobster boats. For- 

 tunately, we do have data collected by Professor An- 

 dreas A. Holmsen of the University of Rhode Island. 

 These data pertain to the operations of the New Eng- 

 land trap-lobster fishery (Connecticut, Rhode Island, 

 Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine). A sam- 

 ple of 186 boats was collected (126 operating out of 



19 



