With Warming Seas, Lobsters Become An Abundant Bargain

There is good news for consumers, but bad for struggling lobstermen: Prices for the delicacy are cheap again this season, and could stay that way.

Massachusetts lobstermen were paid about $3.74 per pound last week, just four cents more than a year ago, when prices hit a record low. That means supermarket prices of $6.99 to $9.99 a pound, depending on size.

Get used to the bargains, the experts say, because climate change, in the form of warmer oceans, and fewer predators are likely to mean a plentiful lobster supply for years to come. On top of that, looser regulations on the crustacean’s predators — cod, halibut, and hake — are creating bigger lobster populations.

“You’re seeing this explosion in catches,” said Rick Wahle, a professor at Darling Marine Center at the University of Maine. “You remove those large fish from the population, and lobsters outgrow their predators faster than…