Since 2005, the amount of crabs caught in Maine has been steadily declining. This year is showing a particularly dramatic drop in the catch numbers, resulting in higher prices and very low availability.

The problems of the lobster industry have been well publicized. What was once a very profitable career has become a daily struggle, as fuel and bait costs outweigh the value of the lobsters being brought in. The price of lobster has dropped to as low as $2 per pound.

A significant amount the Maine crab brought to shore each year is from lobstermen, for whom the crab are a by-catch in their lobster traps. In a typical year, as summer heats up and lobsters shed, lobstermen start throwing back crabs to keep more room on board available for lobster.

Lobster prices are low, but fishermen get paid around $2 per pound for lobster and around $0.38 per pound for crab.

As the supply of crab drops, the price of climbs. But this year, crab isn't just expensive, it's unavailable.

“I can’t get Maine crabmeat from any of my suppliers,” says Doug Roberts, who owns Oak Street Provisions in Boothbay Harbor. “It just isn’t available anywhere.”

With the price of lobster continuing to drop, more and more lobster boats aren’t going out. Recently some Maine boats remained tied up at the docks in a lobstermen’s version of a strike.

Fewer lobstermen means a smaller crab catch.

“Last year, I could get 50 to 60 pounds a week, no problem,” Russell Pinkham of Pinkham’s Seafood in Boothbay said. “This year I’m lucky to get half that. Last week I got zero.”