© Paul Mozell 2012
This morning I wandered down to the State Pier in Gloucester, MA with a camera and one lens, hoping to find some photographs of fishermen. I spoke to one lobsterman who said that it hardly pays to go out these days. He said that the prices he’s getting for lobster can’t get much lower. That’s how we get the $4.00/lb price at the supermarket. Pointing to a load of traps on his boat, he said that each trap costs him around $100 and that he has an astounding 800 of them to care for and keep track of. When asked how long the traps last, he replied that some last a week while others last for years, depending on whether or not they get run over by other boats. The owner of a nearby trawler told me, “It’s just not the same anymore—there just aren’t enough fish. I’m not going out today”