by Kevin Yarr, CBCNews.ca

A story of Nova Scotia MP Gregg Kerr comparing lobster to bologna was a surprise hit last week. Hundreds of people took time out of their busy schedules to comment on the story.

This is the gist of it: Over Christmas the price of lobster fell so low, said Kerr, it should no longer be considered a luxury. This could be a centrepiece of a new marketing campaign for lobster, he said.

Pretty much everyone who posted a comment on the page was angry at someone. Angry at fishermen for collecting EI despite making what seemed to them a very good living, angry at fish processors who were accused of hoarding frozen lobster to keep the price of lobster down, angry at restaurants for charging exorbitant prices, angry at consumers for not understanding how little of those high prices went to fishermen.

Firstly, it should be pointed out that Kerr was overstating in comparing lobster to bologna. The comparison did come relatively close when comparing live lobster to bologna, but by weight a live lobster comes with a lot of inedible shell.

While the comparison may have been overblown, it is true that the price of lobster fell dramatically, and will likely drop again as spring fisheries open up. Lobster is undoubtedly more affordable than it has been since those apocryphal days when fishermen's children would bring lobster sandwiches to school and trade them for the peanut butter brought in by their buddies.

It is difficult to imagine, however, that Kerr's plan could move the whole chain of the lobster industry to have a significant impact this spring. Even when prices fell to $13 a kilogram in the supermarkets this Christmas, prices in restaurants remained in the luxury zone.

Outside of restaurants, the market for live lobster can only be pushed so hard. A significant portion of the population is still not comfortable with dropping a live lobster into a pot of boiling water.

Will you buy more lobster if the price drops again this spring?