Eat Wicked Local Lobstah

Local lobster retailers are warning seafood lovers to beware of low prices, as a large soft-shelled catch of Maine lobsters is driving down prices.

Retailers in Tiverton and Little Compton said consumers' best bet is to buy, eat and catch locally, as Sakonnet Harbor's lobsters are plump and hard shelled.

"It's called global warming," said Jim Mataronas III, owner and founder of in Little Compton. "Waters are warming up. In Maine, because the water is colder, they are molting at different times."

Rhode Island's lobsters shed their shells from late-May to early-June this year, said Mataronas, and after taking a few weeks to bulk up, they are ripe for the roasting, baking, grilling and boiling.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the unseasonably warm winter allowed Canadian and Maine lobstermen to bring in larger catches in early spring, affecting the catch throughout the remainder of the season. 

"Maine's blue-shelled lobsters are shedding now," he said. "They have just molted which means they shed the old shell and the new shell underneath is very soft. The new shell expands out and lobsters absorb water and it takes a few weeks [to harden]."

Mataronas said seafood lovers shouldn't be tempted by the low cost of these less-meaty crustaceans - wholesale prices have dropped to as low as $4.25 per pound. For $6.99 per pound Sakonnet Lobster Company has fully matured, deliciously local lobsters.

Whenever a soft-shelled Rhode Island crab hits the shelves at Sakonnet Lobster Company, Mataronas sells it for $5 per pound.

is also shying away from stocking Maine lobsters, according to an employee. 

"People don't realize it's an influx of junk lobster that Maine has," he said on Tuesday afternoon. "They are weak, soft-shelled, one-clawed or no-clawed. We only sell the hard-shelled quality lobsters."

At Bridgeport seafood pound-and-a-quarter lobsters cost $8.99 per pound and pound-and-a-half-and-larger lobsters cost $9.99 per pound.