New study says consumers may pay more for lobster caught with ropeless technology
New study says consumers may pay more for lobster caught with ropeless technology
Publish Date: 2026-05-25 19:36:00
Source Domain: www.wmtw.com
A new study has found consumers are willing to pay over $3 more per lobster roll if the meat was harvested using ropeless technology. The study, led by University of Maine business school associate professor Angie Zheng, surveyed 2,000 people across the United States.”In this study, we estimated how much U.S. consumers value lobster harvested using ropeless technology,” Zheng said. Before deciding how much they were willing to pay, participants were given one of four different information sets. The sets included a control group that only provided background information. Other sets included varying amounts of information on the whale populations, entanglements, and the lobster community. Traditional lobstering methods use ropes to connect the trap on the seafloor with the buoy on the surface.However, those ropes may be harmful, even deadly, to the endangered North Atlantic right whale. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association says entanglements with fishing gear are the leading cause of death for the right whale. There are fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales left. According to NOAA Fisheries, ropeless gear uses acoustic systems to release an inflatable bag attached to the trap when the fisherman is ready to collect the trap. However, implementing the technology is a different story. “Lobster fishing technology currently is in the experimental stage, and it’s very expensive. There are concerns from the community regarding its feasibility, reliability and the cost effectiveness,” Zheng said. Maine’s Total Coverage spoke to someone in the industry who says he doubts consumers would be willing to pay more for lobster, and that lobstermen and women are already dealing with enough costs. Zheng and her research partner, Kanae Tokunaga from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, said their research is focused on how marketing could impact the industry, but said they are aware of the difficulties. “They are not going to be able to pay for this…
