The talk on the wharves prior to the opening of the lobster fishery in LFA 33-34 on Nov. 28 was that things would be different this year regarding price.
Last year’s benign weather conditions allowed some harvesters to operate every day for the first 28 of the season. Everything was sold at a decent price, including lower grade stuff, from opening day with prices topping off in some niches at $15/pound in February.
How things have changed.
With February on the cusp, most harvesters were faced with a two-tiered system and prices for hard shells were back to 1995 levels.
Hard shells were going anywhere from $8 to $9 and lower quality at $5. Some dealers paid $7 straight.
A far cry from $10-$15/pound as was the case last winter.
And quality hadn’t improved all that much, especially along the LFA 33-34 borderline where large lobsters had low protein levels, so much so that some buyers refused to touch them.
“I’m afraid some fishermen who kept their catch hoping for higher prices will be hit hard. Some of them didn’t sell when the price hit $9 but instead of going up, they decreased, which is an oddity at this time of year,” said Bernie Berry, president of the Coldwater Lobster Association, a group trying to unite the over 1,660 lobstermen in LFA 33-34 into some form of coalition.
“The mortalities could be very high in this case.”
The fishery in the area depends a great deal on the Christmas season for the North American and European market, the Chinese New Year, which fell this year on Jan. 28 for the Asian market and Valentine’s Day.
Prior to the opening of the season, speculation was that tails would be scarce this season, which are a mainstay for the processing end of the industry.
Reasons cited were a later opening date and the inability of plant operators to find enough workers to man the production lines due to new regulations.
The late start to the season and inclement weather conditions led to a shortage of product early on than was the case last year, according to Jerry Amirault, who represents the majority of lobster processors in the Maritimes.
He said many processing plants had enough stock to last them until spring. Which could explain the lack of enthusiasm for industrial grade product thus far this fishing season.
The labour issue remains a big item with this sector.
“You can’t force an unemployed person to work in the plants. We’re a world-class operation producing a world-class product and we need a stable work force, something we don’t have at the moment due to government regulations. But we’re working on that problem and awaiting the result of a government report on the situation which should be released shortly,” Amirault said.
As far as the American situation, in view of Donald Trump taking over the presidency and vowing to tax imports into the United States, Amirault feels the logic shouldn’t apply to the lobster sector.
“We have a few American companies setting up shop in the Maritimes and we do buy a large quantity of lobsters from our neighbours to the south, something like 50 to 60 million pounds each year,” he said.
According to other sources, the United States is also deficient in some seafood product and it needs imports to satisfy consumer demand.
But according to Bernie Berry, the supply and demand scenario doesn’t seem to be working in LFA 33-34 so far this fishing season.
“You watch. When the spring fishery gets into full swing and this is when our lobsters are at peak quality, the price will drop.”
There is still no word from the province on efforts to resolve the cent-per-pound levy to back the marketing endeavour problem. While most of the Maritimes back the proposal, such is not the case in LFA 33-34 and the provincial government seems reluctant to aggravate this sector in this regard.
