The nation's financial and economic crises are taking a toll on Maine's lobster industry, leading to near-record low prices and spurring the Maine Lobster Council to launch an advertising campaign this week.

A drop in consumer demand, coupled with high fuel and bait prices, has pushed lobster prices across the state to as low as $3.49 a pound, according to the Portland Press Herald. The floundering international finance industry is also to blame as a number of Canadian processors, which usually buy most Maine lobster this time of year, have been forced to shut down as their financing from Iceland-based banks dries up. Lobstermen have been getting around $2.25 a pound for their catch, nearly half the $4 a pound they have been getting in the past four years, according to the Associated Press.

In response, the Maine Lobster Council plans to launch a radio and print advertising campaign to promote the crustacean, and is also working with a number of major grocery and restaurant chains, including Scarborough-based Hannaford Bros. Co. and Kittery-based eatery Weathervane, to hold special promotions and advertising.