When it comes to seafood, there’s only one word that matters as far as consumers are concerned: fresh.

So what better way to emphasize the freshness of your seafood than a tank full of live lobsters?

Last year produced a record lobster catch in the state of Maine, which produces 90 percent of the lobsters in the United States. Combined with imports from Canada, nearly 200 million pounds of lobster are brought to market each year, according to the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine in Orono.

“There’s no quota on the number of lobsters,” says Cathy Billings, associate director at the Lobster Institute. “There are other regulations to ensure a sustainable fishery. But everything that’s brought to the wharf is sold.”

The high volume has managed to keep prices relatively low at the wholesale level.

In today’s sluggish economy, consumers might not necessarily be thinking about buying a luxury item such as a whole lobster. But today’s lower wholesale prices present opportunities for retailers to showcase lobster specials in an economy when shoppers are constantly on the lookout for deals.

“The biggest thing is the added value at the seafood counter,” says Dane Somers, executive director of the Maine Lobster Council, a Portland, Me.-based lobster promotional body. “It’s your marquee product. You can’t get any fresher than that. And when people buy lobster, they shop around, pick up a bottle of wine. They spend more in the store than just the lobster.”

The council’s research shows marketing lobster can be beneficial to the store’s bottom line, Somers contends.

“You put pork chops on sale, it’s not that exciting,” he says. “But advertise a lobster special and that’s different. People think of it as a celebration food.”

Properly cared-for lobsters can live practically indefinitely in the tank. “Eventually you’d have to feed them,” Billings says. “But they’re sold long before that.”

Lobster tanks vary greatly in price, from $5,000 to $20,000 and up, according to Richard Tokosh, owner of Lobster Life Systems, a tank manufacturer and distributor in Lodi, N.J.

“It just depends on how big you go and how much you want to customize it,” he says. Retailers can also expect to pay several hundred dollars a year to maintain tank filters and other parts. Or hire an outside vendor to clean and maintain the tank, usually with monthly visits.

In New England, retailers close to the ocean can increasingly deal directly with fishermen to get their freshest catch.

“It’s a lot like the trend of farmer’s markets and eating locally,” Billings says. “People like to know where their food is coming from. It means the fisherman is cutting out the middleman, and the consumer knows he’s getting a great local product.”