The lobster fishery in LFA (lobster fishing area) 33-34 closed on a very high note at the end of May with harvesters receiving $6/pound for their catch, the same amount paid at the opening of the season in late November 2015 a far cry from the $3.25/pound earned just a few short years ago.
And if landings in LFA 35 (southeastern part of New Brunswick and an area from Digby back to the Minas Basin in Nova Scotia in the Bay of Fundy) are any indication, the fishing season which opens Nov. 29, could be even better.
Fishermen in LFA 35 were greeted with $6.50/pound when they set out their traps October 14. Most harvesters get an additional 25 cents per pound top up from buyers, but there was talk in late October that the price could climb to $7/pound.
“The tides were bad during that opening week and high winds visited the area for four days beginning on the 22nd. But quality was better than last year,” a fishermen’s spokesperson said.
Although the fishery in LFA 35 is very small compared to the one in LFA 33-34 (only 95 boats compared to near 1,700 in the other two LFAs) the quality of the product and price is a good indication of what will happen when the fishery really gets underway in late November, early December.
Similar prices were also paid in the Grey Zone, an area off Grand Manan claimed by both Canada and the USA, when a few boats ventured out in this area.
Although the quality was deemed to be less than ideal for markets, buyers paid $6.50/pound.
“The wharf talk is that with high tides and winds, only the strongest lobsters were able to make it into the pots and that when things calm down we will see more lobsters of lower quality. The water is still very warm in the Gulf of Maine at 15 degrees or so,” the spokesperson said.
According to some analysts, high lobster prices could be here to stay. Wholesale prices in Maine for a quarter-pounder hard shell was $8.50 with consumers paying from $9 to $11/pound.
In Yarmouth, for example, retail outlets have been selling lobster for most of the summer and fall in the $13-$15/pound price range.
A high demand from Asia for the North American lobster is the reason for the high prices. There is also a high demand for processed lobster products and frozen lobster meat from Canada — fetching $32/pound during the 2015-2016 fishery in LFAs 33-34.
Maine is a major producer of lobsters, catching in the neighbourhood of 100-million pounds annually. Landings in LFAs 33-34 have been in the 55-million pound range. The difference between the two is that most of the Canadian catch goes into the live market. While millions of pounds of the soft shell variety caught by Americans during the summer months end up on processing lines.
There is very little fishing done during the winter months by New Englanders.
This large infusion of cash has been a boon for economies in western and south western Nova Scotia. Boatbuilders, for example, have booked orders for the next two years and new trucks are being sold at record speed.
More fishermen are opting for the larger 50-foot Cape Islanders boats which can venture further out to sea in rough water.
Nova Scotia used to have a lively lobster processing sector which petered out years ago, but is returning.
Riverside Lobster International Inc. of Meteghan River now employs 300 people year-round and is a ready market for lobsters which do not make the live market grade.
During the past year, the company landed a million-dollar loan from ACOA which will be invested in new meat extraction equipment. This new equipment will make up for a problem with finding workers.
Employees now come from the Digby and Yarmouth areas with the company bussing the workers each day to its Meteghan River facility.
And First Catch Fisheries Company bought land in the Shelburne Marine Industrial Park where it will build a processing plan to cook, freeze and ship lobster products to China.
The company’s corporate parent Dalian Fishing Forever Company hails from northeastern China and operates a lobster facility on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia.
The 32,000-square foot plant should be operational by next May and will house seafood holding and processing facilities, storage and administration offices.
Another market which has been growing during the past two years has been the European Union. A free trade deal between Canada and the EU will eliminate punishing tariffs of seafood products and make way for further gains in this market for lobster, scallops and crab.
Canada is also in negotiations for an Asian-North American free trade deal.
