Maine Lobsters and China

choi

Ylan Q Mui, This Tiny American Town Is Staking Its Future on Chinese Foodies. In the US, China is often portrayed as a villain. But what's happening on one little island shows why the story is more complicated. Washington Post, May 15, 2016.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/n ... on-chinese-foodies/

American "Exports of lobsters to China, nonexistent a decade ago, totaled $20 million last year.

"Maine lobsters are just a tiny sliver of the $116 billion in annual exports to China, a figure that has nearly tripled in the past decade. [It does not say whether the figures are inflation-adjusted]

"Although the techniques for trapping lobsters haven't changed much since, the industry itself is in the midst of transformation.  For the first time in decades, Maine is facing a glut of lobsters. When [lobsterman Bruce] Fernald's father was working these waters, Maine's lobstermen pulled in roughly 20 million pounds a year. But since 2012, landings have topped 120 million pounds.

"In fact, Maine lobsters are often called Boston lobsters overseas, since they are shipped from Logan International Airport.

"But Maine is not the only source of the crustacean. China gets much of its lobster from Australia, although it is the spiny-tailed variety that residents here deride as tougher and less flavorful. Still, China is spending millions of dollars to erect a shipping facility in Australia, and a fishermen's co-op there [Australia] is building live lobster holding tanks in Guangzhou, according to local news reports.

Janine "Bisaillon-Cary[, who heads the Maine International Trade Center,] said she has had to explain to interested investors that Maine's fiercely independent lobster industry is not for sale.  Each of Maine's 5,785 lobstermen is an independent business: A license allows its holder to own one boat, and he must do the fishing himself. Each day, the lobstermen sell their catch to dealers for shipment across the country and around the world. State law prohibits dealers from owning boats and lobstermen from becoming dealers, ensuring this $500 million industry remains decentralized.  'That's a really tough concept for the Chinese. They're like, "We want to own everything,’" ' Bisaillon-Cary said. 'We're like, "You can't do that." '  Instead, the state has tried to steer Chinese investors toward plants that process lobsters — or other industries [in Maine] altogether.

"Ready Seafood, a large supplier of Maine lobsters to China. At the company's headquarters in downtown Portland, the lobsters would be immersed in cold water to purge their intestines and keep them docile. Then they would be transferred to a second, cleaner tank until they could be packed into boxes with frozen gel packs and wet newspaper to keep them alive during the drive down to Boston and the long flight to China that takes at least 14 hours.

"In Fernald's father's day, trapping lobsters was the path to a modest but comfortable lifestyle. Since the [lobster] population boom, it has become big business: Many fishermen pull in sales totaling six figures.

Note:
(a) "At the five-star Conrad Hotel in Beijing 北京康莱德酒店, chef Mirko Sun dishes up lobster porridge, lobster bisque with garlic croutons and a lobster salad with fresh herbs. The crustacean sells for roughly $42 a pound, about a quarter of the average urban worker’s weekly income.  'For most Chinese people, eating lobster is about face,' Sun said. 'Mostly people only order it to treat important guests.' "
(i) Conrad Hotels
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Hotels
(an international brand of luxury hotels and resorts owned and operated by Hilton Worldwide)
(ii)
(A) bisque (food)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisque_(food)
(B) bisque (n): "a thick cream soup made with shellfish or game"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bisque

Note the pronunciation.

(b) "the [Little Cranberry] island's haul [is] ferried roughly once a day to a dock on Mount Desert Island, three miles away."
(i) Mount Desert Island
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Desert_Island
(section 1 Origin of the name; Largest settlement  Bar Harbor)

Quote: "the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of 108 square miles (280 km2) it is the 6th largest island in the contiguous United States.[5] It is the second-largest island on the Eastern seaboard, behind Long Island and ahead of Martha's Vineyard. According to the 2010 census, the island has a year-round population of 10,615, although it is estimated that two and a half million tourists a year visit Acadia National Park on the island.

* The map at the top of the report marks Mount Desert Island.

(ii) déserts:
(adj): "masculine plural of [adjective masculine] désert [deserted]"
(noun masculine): "plural of désert desert"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/déserts
(both definitions are from the same Latin word)