Perhaps it's time to reconsider our stigma against buying lobster with food stamps?

"President Donald Trump directed his administration on Wednesday to provide lobstermen with financial assistance to make up for lost income from Chinese tariffs in a move that one of Maine’s senators praised and said “came out of the blue.”

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Trump signed a memorandum Wednesday calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make available to the lobster industry subsidies like those given to soybean and other agricultural growers. Maine accounts for 80 percent of the U.S. lobster haul The state’s congressional delegation lobbied for such a move in a June 2019 letter.

China is one of the biggest export destinations for lobster, which are trapped in the Atlantic Ocean by U.S. and Canadian fishermen. But Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods resulted in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. lobster. Canadian lobstermen, not subject to the punitive tariffs, took control of the market to the frustration of Maine lobster exporters.

In a Wednesday tweet, Trump said former President Barack Obama “destroyed the lobster and fishing industry in Maine” and falsely said “it’s back, bigger and better than anyone ever thought possible.” The state’s lobster haul peaked by pound in 2012 and by price in 2016."