BANGOR (AP) – Many lobstermen were surprised by the early start to the lobster season in July. But optimism faded over the course of the summer, and lobstermen predict there’ll be no records set when the 2006 figures are tallied.

Maine’s lobster fishery hit a record dollar value last year despite a declining catch thanks to a 60-cent jump in the market price of lobster to around $4.60 per pound.

This season, lobstermen say, the price fell back to around $4 a pound, and many say the catch wasn’t so great, either. Higher bait and fuel prices also hurt lobstermen.

“The decrease in price and increase in expenses hurt,” said Carl Wilson, senior lobster scientist for the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

After staying below $3 for most of the 1990s, the average per pound price increased to $4.03 in 2004 and last year jumped 60 cents, or nearly 15 percent, to $4.63. But the average price stayed around $3.75 per pound for much of the past season, Wilson said.

Mike Dassatt of Belfast said Friday that fishing in upper Penobscot Bay seems to have declined generally in recent years. That trend continued in 2006.

“We had a poor season,” he said. “The big thing was the gasoline price.”

Dave Cousens, who fishes from South Thomaston, echoed that pessimistic assessment. “Worst year I’ve had in 20 years,” Cousens said.

No one would have predicted mediocre landings, when large numbers of soft-shell lobsters – called shedders – started appearing in traps in July. That represented an early start compared to the previous three years in which the season got off to a late start.

The arrival of shedders normally signals the start of growing catches, but that didn’t happen this year, Wilson said. “There’s some head scratching going on,” he said.

Updated figures from Maine Department of Marine Resources indicate that 67 million pounds of lobster worth $311 million was caught in Maine in 2005.

That represents a $25 million increase over the $286 million worth of lobster caught in Maine in 2004 despite a decline of nearly 4 million pounds.

Despite the inexact nature of the historical data, fluctuations in the lobster population and industry are considered normal, Wilson said.

Recorded landings may be going down, he said, but there’s no indication that the health of the fishery is in any danger, he said.

“I don’ see any red flags,” Wilson said. “Not at all.”