N.H. firm steaming after DoD reneges on lobster deal

NHBR ^ | December 9, 2011 | NHBR new hampshire buisness review

[weldAllday]

"Cancellation of a military contract to supply lobster to troops in Afghanistan caused havoc in the lobster industry in Maine and New Hampshire, "The military blatantly disregarded how this would affect people," a Dutch food supply company that supplies the Defense Logistic Agency with all sorts of meals. (The suit also names subsidiaries Supreme Logistics, based in Dubai, and Supreme Foodservice GmbH, based in Switzerland.)

[weldAllday]

How much more gov abuse of power can the fishing industry of new england take. The troops, will still get thier lobster. And they deserve to. God Bless every one of them and their families. They are just getting them from foriegn suppliers.

[Always A Marine]

Maine’s lobstermen should have paid more campaign bribes to the Obama campaign. The Navy just agreed to pay $16 per gallon for “biodiesel” aviation fuel — four times higher than the standard $3-something price per gallon for JP-5. Of course, the heads of the biodiesel suppliers are major Obama supporters. You gotta pay the mob; it’s the new way of doing business...

[Sooth2222]

"Anastasia said Supreme officials told them that the Defense Logistics Agency, which was feeding the troops surf-and-turf meals every Friday, had cut back the meals to once a month and began using a lobster substitute."

"Lobster substitute"???????

[OCCASparky]

"Lobster substitute"???????

Yeah, kinda like "crab salad" or "krab salad" as it's called in most circles. Rarely is it actual crab--more often than not it's whitefish of some sort.

In other news, live lobsters at NH supermarkets and fish shops are retailing for about $5/lb.

[troy McClure]

Lobsters are the Cockroaches of the Sea.

[IYAS9YAS]

Lobsters are the Cockroaches of the Sea.

Yes. And tasty cockroaches they are.

Dang, it's only 7:15 in the morning, and I'm already wanting lunch.

[Mr. K]

why wait? Have a lobster omelet

[qwerty1234]

$15M for 750,000 pounds of lobster is $20/lb (which is about a 100% markup from the retail price, and when you are buying 3/4 million pounds you shouldn’t even have to pay retail)...seems to me someone has been gouging the DOD and now is upset that the gravy train has stopped.

$20/lb, no wonder the employees were getting year end bonuses...

[freebird5850]

it's whitefish of some sort.

I believe it's called "pollock".

[Pentagon Leatherneck]

seems to me someone has been gouging the DOD and now is upset that the gravy train has stopped. And you're shocked by this? TC

[Romulus]

The troops, will still get thier lobster. And they deserve to.

Sorry, but no -- they don't. Apart from the point that programs like this are more about taking care of domestic constituencies than taking care of the troops, service members are no more deserving of lobster in Afghanistan than DOJ staffers at Foggy Bottom deserve $16 muffins. If service members "deserve" lobster, why not filet mignon and caviar? I'm sure they're all great guys and gals, but they signed up for a mission, not a vacation.

Somebody had to say it.

[weldAllday]

I served on CC 148 USS Newport News. We had lobster tails and T-bone steaks at least once a month. and yes we deserved it

[weldAllday]

I served on CA 148 USS Newport News. We had lobster tails and T-bone steaks at least once a month. and yes we deserved it.
Our warriors should be fed well.

[Romulus]

We had lobster tails and T-bone steaks at least once a month. and yes we deserved it

Sounds delicious. Can I assume you continue to do the same, on your own dime? Assuming you still deserve it, of course.

[mikey_hates_everything]

This is an issue between contractors, the sub and the prime, nothing to do with the US Government.

[FreeDeerHawk]

How come our military isn’t being supplied by AMERICAN companies?

So sorry about the losses for the lobster industry. Hope the military get some of the real thing.

[OCCASparky]

Most of what we get here is, yes. Some is surimi and other stuff. Depends on where it originates.

[OCCASparky]

LIVE lobsters are running about $5.50-6.00/lb retail here in NH/ME. Last time I priced them outside the immediate New England area, they go for $15/lb.

And if you consider that for every pound of lobster, you'll actually end up with about 4 1/2-5 ounces of meat, meaning if you went to WalMart or grocery store in the Midwest and paid $60 for a 4-lb bug (yes, they do sell them) you'll only be getting about 18-20 ounces of meat.

Even here, the grocery stores charge well in excess of $20/lb for lobster meat. Considering the best way to ship the bugs to the 'Stan would be to cook, process, and freeze the tails, $20/lb for tails is a darned good price.

[OCCASparky]

As a former submariner, lemme just jump in with the .02 here. We're supposedly fed as well as anyone in the service. I hope that's not necessarily true, because while we might have gotten surf and turf on Halfway Night, we certainly didn't eat anywhere near as well as you think we did.

And anytime you think we're out there just "on vacation", might I suggest you join us for a few months to put your views in proper perspective?

[Romulus]

You’ve misrepresented what I said.