Consumers willing to pay more for lobster harvested with ropeless technology, study finds

U.S. consumers are willing to pay more for lobster harvested using ropeless fishing technology designed to reduce whale entanglement risks, according to new University of Maine research. A study led by Qiujie "Angie" Zheng, associate professor of business analytics in the University of Maine's Maine Business School, found that consumers are willing to pay an average of $3.42 more for a lobster roll made with lobster harvested using ropeless fishing technology when presented with information on animal welfare.