Is Lobster Larvae Decline a Factor in Whale Deaths?
Editor’s Note: This is Alain’s final contribution to The Navigator Magazine. Our long-time, revered, Nova Scotia fisheries contributor passed away on August 5 in Yarmouth. He will be missed, not only by the readers of this publication, but by the fishing industry as a whole.
Marine scientists now believe the lack of lobster postlarvae is the culprit behind the right whales vacating their feeding grounds at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy and migrating to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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Organization and Lobbyists Could Be Solution to Industry Woes
When the late U.S. President Lyndon Johnson appointed a person into his inner circle, who at times had publicly disagreed with his policies, he justified his decision by saying he’d rather have the guy inside the tent peeing out than outside the tent peeing in.
When it comes to having any influence with governments, especially Ottawa concerning the commercial fishery, hiring lobbyists is the solution because the opposition is doing so and with results.
Three worried lobster harvesters ...
Negative Reaction to Lobster Industry Observer Program
A recent meeting conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) on a proposed Nova Scotia lobster observer program drew a mixed reaction.
The Lockeport meeting was held in June and was meant for organized groups of lobster harvesters in the region.
“We weren’t told what the meeting was all about and by law organized fishermen’s group like ours have to be told,” Colin Sproul said.
He is the spokesman for the 175-member Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermens Association.
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No Movement on Nova Scotia Lobster Marketing Plan
The idea of lobster harvesters in LFA 33-34 paying for a marketing scheme is in the doldrums.
Word is that the Nova Scotia government will not force the issue, so the decision is up to the 1,600 mostly unorganized or unaffiliated harvesters in this area.
The United States is a year ahead of Nova Scotia in this regard.
Maine, the nation’s leading lobster producer, has a Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative in motion. The aim, funded by lobster harvesters, is to make Americans aware ...
Troubled Lobster Season Wraps Up in SW Nova
The lobster fishing industry in the south western end of Nova Scotia has been going through heady and profitable times during the past decade.
While prices still mimicked those paid 30 years ago, the volume landed made up the difference in the all-important take home pay.
No matter that signs appear to be a bit amiss on the lobster patch, a volume versus quality mentality pervades this industry to this day — but climate change could put an abrupt end to the catching frenzy, especially ...
N.S. Herring Fishery Patterns Changing
For the uninitiated, catching fish with all of the modern gear is a simple thing, with the creatures having little chance of surviving the onslaught.
This might be the case in instances where migratory patterns are set, or as in the case of scallops, the prey is basically static on the ocean bottom.
Climate change, especially the warming of ocean waters, is changing all that.
Herring, an important food and bait fish in Atlantic Canada, used to disappear in the fall, with purse seiners ...
High Lobster Prices Lure Fraudsters
Canadian lobster is a valuable commodity, with a global reach now that it has found a niche in Asia.
The removal of tariffs from seafood imports into the European Union from Canada will eventually open doors to our lobsters — live and frozen — to a multi-million-dollar marketplace.
The Americans are a bit leery, or jealous, of this move as their government tries to rid itself of international trade agreements like NAFTA and one with the European Community, in an effort to persuade ...
Expanding Markets for Canadian Lobsters Through Marketing and Branding
With spring galloping along at a brisk pace, the lobster market becomes flooded as many areas re-enter the fishery after laying low over the winter months.
This is the case for harvesters in New England and most of the Maritimes, but not for Southwest Nova Scotia, where over 1,600 vessels ply the waters between Digby and Halifax.
With the emergence of larger fishing vessels, many harvesters in Digby, Yarmouth and Shelburne Counties fish the whole winter, albeit not every day, but as ...
Shore-Grown Seaweed a Major N.S.-Based Industry
After eating a sumptuous lunch in Barrington Passage, in a place where lobster is pronounced “lobsteh,” my daughter and I decided to take the old shore route back to Yarmouth.
At Shag Harbour, I pointed out the spot where one of the world’s best documented UFO crash landings occurred a few decades ago. It was witnessed by a whole slew of people. Fishermen actually went to the spot with their fishing boats thinking the object might have been an aircraft. They were met with slimy waters ...
Mackerel Saves the Day for Icelanders
Iceland, like most of North America, suffered greatly due to the 2008 mortgage fiasco, perpetuated by money lenders without a care for the ability of a borrower to pay.
Here the motto was “we’re too big to fail” so our tax dollars bailed the miscreants out.
Not so in Iceland. No public bailouts, but jail time instead. That’s right, many of the guilty are still in the slammer.
While it was tough to lose one’s home — and many did — the Icelanders soldiered on.
And then a ...
