2020 Northern Shrimp Prices Take a Major Hit
Despite Newfoundland and Labrador’s Standing Fish Price Setting Panel siding with the price put forth by harvesters this year, the 2020 season will still be a challenging one.
The panel recently accepted the Fish Food and Allied Workers’ (FFAW-Unifor) price recommendation of $1.18/pound for Northern shrimp landed at the plant and $1.15/pound for trucked shrimp.
Last year, fishermen were paid a minimum price of $1.78/pound. At the time, it represented an 18 per cent increase over the ...
Lobster Exporters Cautiously Optimistic Markets Will Continue to Recover
Above photo by Kathy Johnson
While lobster exporters have been facing some COVID-19 obstacles moving product into China this summer, not all the news is bad.
“In general, markets have recovered faster than we expected and we are cautiously optimistic that this will continue through the summer,” said Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada (LCC).
Irvine said the European Union markets are “opening slowly with volumes increasing in live and processed ...
Miawpukek First Nation Diversifying Fisheries Opportunities
State-of-the-Art Vessel Providing Aquaculture Net Cleaning Services
Aunt Mali would be proud.
She is the namesake of the new, state-of-the-art aquaculture support vessel built and configured to do in-situ net cleaning service for the aquaculture industry by Miawpukek First Nation (MFN)’s Netukulink Fisheries on Newfoundland’s south coast.
Aunt Mali “was an elder in the community that’s no longer with us, but that name, it felt very fitting because Aunt Mali was the mother, the ...
Status Quo for Gulf Halibut Fishery
There will be no changes to the Atlantic halibut fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (4RST) for the 2020/21 season, with the TAC set the same as last year at 1,492 tonnes for the one-year period from May 15, 2020 to May 14, 2021.
Out of that, a 60-tonne allocation has been set aside under Section 10 of the Fisheries Act to support the industry/Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) longline survey and tagging project that covers the entire Gulf of St. Lawrence and its estuary from 20 ...
Legislation Expected this Fall to Lift N.S. Licence Freeze
The moratorium on the issuance of new licences for fish buying and processing in Nova Scotia could soon be lifted.
“We’re probably going to take legislation to the legislature this fall around that,” said Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Keith Colwell in an interview.
A licensing policy review, initiated after concerns were expressed by industry over a number of things including grandfathered licenses and what are commonly referred to as bingo card licences, has been ...
Lobster Landings Solid in LFAs 33 and 34
Above photo: Woods Harbour fisherman Sandy Goreham carries a trap while loading the Theresa and Cole at the Lower Woods Harbour wharf.
Halifax Airport Gears Up for Busy Cargo Season
The lobster season is well underway in southwestern Nova Scotia, with solid landings, a strong shore price and firm market conditions during the opening month.
The season opened on November 28 after a one-day weather delay for the close to 1,700 fishing vessels in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs) 33 and 34. ...
Southwest Nova Groundfish Fishery Holding Its Own
The Southwestern Nova Scotia groundfish fishery is holding its own, with an overall landed value that has topped more than $50-million in 2015 and 2016, harvested by just over 400 vessels from all sectors of the inshore fleet.
According to preliminary statistics from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, in 2016 the total landed value of groundfish species on Georges Bank (5Z) was $22,308,556. Fifty-four vessels participated in the fishery, including 31 from the under-65 mobile ...
NL-GIDC Outlines Priority Issues for Groundfish Industry Development
Above photo: NL-GIDC independent chair, Jim Baird
Since its inception in April 2016, the Newfoundland and Labrador Groundfish Industry Development Council (NL-GIDC) has quickly become a major player in formulating a strategy for re-establishing a commercial cod fishery in the province.
The organization, made up of processors, harvesters and government officials, recently unveiled its latest strategy at its annual general meeting in St. John’s.
“The way forward for our provinc...
Lobster Season About to Kick Off in Southwest Nova
Above photo: Fishermen bait lobster traps on the Clark’s Harbour wharf on dumping day in 2016. The commercial lobster fishery in LFAs 33 and 34 was scheduled to open on Nov. 27. Kathy Johnson photo
LFA 35 Opening Offers Hope for Good Start in LFAs 33-34
Strong landings, a shore price of $6.50/pound and a “decent quality” catch in the Upper Bay of Fundy had lobster fishermen in Lobster Fishing Areas 33 and 34 optimistic for another good season as they readied for the scheduled ...
Concern Replacing Optimism in LFA 25
Fall P.E.I. Lobster Fishermen Face Disappointing Lull in Price Per Pound
There was a great deal of optimism this year as Prince Edward Island lobster fishermen with fall licences started gearing up for their season — but it didn’t last.
There are about 254 boats from P.E.I. who participate in the Northumberland Strait lobster fishery in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 25. The season runs this year from Aug. 8 to about Oct. 8.
By any leap of logic, the captains had good reason to have a ...
