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 spring in their steps as setting day approached.
Prices in the fall of 2016 were higher than expected. The spring 2017 fishery, which is in LFA 24 and 26A, saw record prices for catches, an average of about $7 per pound for canners and about $7.50 per pound or more for markets.
Those prices seemed God-sent for captains who just a few years earlier had wistfully hoped for $5 per pound, while the actual price wallowed at between $3 and $4 per pound.
But as the fall season got underway and buyers started musing about prices, captains were shocked to hear they could expect between $4 and $4.25 per pound for their canner lobster and between $4.50 and $4.75 for their markets.
The processing industry pointed to the change in the U.S. dollar as the primary reason price drop.
Such a steep price drop was egregious enough to prompt the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA) to issue a statement condemning it.
“The information collected by the PEIFA does not justify a $2 drop in price, but industry representatives argue the exchange rate is the key factor,” it said in a statement. “Based on the low volume of fishers at this time of the year, the PEIFA feels that the lower amount of lobster being landed should justify a higher price.”
Long-time fisherman Shelton Barlow said that several weeks into the fishery, prices were about $4 for canners and about $4.50 for market lobsters.
Those prices were disappointing for everyone, said Barlow.
“It will have some impact,” he said.
“Put it this way, last year (Prime Minister) Trudeau made a lot of tax money off us, and this year he’s not going to make any money.”
Overall though, Barlow said that this season is far from the worst he’s seen.
The prices are still relatively good and catches look to be on par with last year, he said.
“So far, so good. Everybody seems to be quite happy with the catches, just a little sad with the prices. But we don’t go backwards, you go forward.”
