The Lobster Council of Canada (LCC) is hoping to tap into the Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF) for funding under the marketing section of the Canadian Fish and Seafood Program component to support a revamped marketing strategy.
“We expect an announcement about the Canadian Fish and Seafood Program soon at which time we will be submitting a proposal summary and expect to be asked to submit a formal proposal for marketing Canadian lobster to the world,” said Geoff Irvine executive director of the LCC.
“The program provides funding from the federal and provincial governments, so we will need support from all governments to finally achieve funding for the marketing strategy.”
Announced last year, the Atlantic Fisheries Fund is slated to invest more than $400 million over seven years to assist Atlantic Canada’s seafood sector transition to meet growing market demands for products that are high quality, value added and sustainably sourced. The federal government will provide 70 per cent of the funding, and 30 per cent will come from participating Atlantic provinces.
Responding to and managing market access issues is also on the LCC radar this year.
“For market access there are many issues facing the lobster sector, including ongoing invasive species concerns in Norway and Sweden, lobster husbandry in Switzerland and domestically, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Seafood Import Monitoring Program in the U.S., eco-certification under the Marine Stewardship Council program and of course the issue surrounding North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,” said Irvine.
The Canadian lobster industry did gain a marketing advantage last fall when the eight per cent tariff on live lobster exports into Europe was lifted under the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Tariffs on frozen and processed lobster will be phased out over the next three to four years.
“In general, we expect processors to use this relief to focus more selling efforts on the EU,” said Irvine noting that export data shows an increase in live sales to the EU, especially in Spain, Italy and France, “where the eight per cent tariff relief makes us more competitive with our competitors in the U.S.”
The Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance has “been quietly working behind the scenes to assist in the effort to gain additional air freight capacity and connections out of Halifax,” said executive director Leo Muise, which would give seafood exporters, lobster in particular, more opportunity to take advantage of CETA. “The CETA agreement is extremely beneficial assuming we can obtain the additional air freight space to deliver to the market,” said Muise.
Demand for Nova Scotia lobster remains strong, said Muise, but at the right price.
In southwestern Nova Scotia (LFAs 33 and 34), Canada’s largest lobster fishery, shore prices for the season which closed on May 31 were somewhat lower this year than in 2017. The season opened in November at $5.75, rose to $7.25 early in the new year, peaked at $13 in the winter and closed in the $6.50 range, compared to last spring, when the season closed at a record-setting $8/pound.
The U.S. is still Nova Scotia’s number one customer for lobster, said Muise, adding the Asian market is also important, as is the domestic market. Nova Scotia lobster exports were valued at $947 million in 2017, with Canadian lobster exports topping $2.1 billion.
