Lobster fishermen in areas of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have been granted a four-day extension to their seasons, past next weeks’ scheduled closure date of July 1.
According to a statement from Canada’s Fishery Minister Gail Shea, fishing in all of P.E.I.’s Gulf lobster fishing areas will be extended four days past the scheduled closure. This includes LFAs 23, 24 , 26A and 26B.
“I have listened at the requests of our hard-working fishermen over the past few weeks and I am pleased to announce that lobster fishermen in all Gulf LFAs will have an additional four days to fish. This decision was based on several factors including the fact that this is a sensitive time for lobster reproduction and the increased risk of fishing soft shell lobster,” said Shea in the statement.
“This four-day extension strikes the right balance between ensuring we protect our precious resource while allowing our fishermen to get more days out fishing.”
DFO also extended the lobster season four days in the Maritime region, which includes areas in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and in LFA 36 in the Bay of Fundy. That fishery was scheduled to shut down on June 29.
“This decision came in response to current requests from industry to extend the season and was based on several factors, namely that this time of year coincides with the moulting and reproduction cycles of lobster,” the DFO said in a statement.
The P.E.I. and New Brunswick lobster seasons were delayed by over a week in early May due to lingering ice in the harbors.
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