Weather permitting, most Prince Edward Island lobster fishermen will get an early start this spring to the commercial lobster fishery, with seasons opening a few days earlier than usual in lobster fishing areas (LFA) 24 and parts of LFA 26.
The season closing dates have also been adjusted accordingly. The seasonal fishing changes came at the request of industry and were sanctioned by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).
LFA 26A-3 led the way with an April 22 opening date compared to April 26 in 2024. LFAs 24 and 26A-1 followed with an April 25 opening compared to April 29 for LFA 24 and April 26 for 26A-1 last year. Fishers in LFA 26B (south) started their season on April 30, a day later than usual, while the season in LFA 26B (north) was scheduled to open on May 2, compared to May 6 last year. The opening day for LFA 26A-2 (April 26) and LFA 23 (April 30) were unchanged.
Going into the season, Ian MacPherson, executive director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA), said there is a cautious mood among the harvesting sector, based on the uncertainty in North America and China.
“The current focus of our captains is to prepare for a safe spring fishing season,” said MacPherson. “It is understood that market issues are beyond our local control. We stand behind the high quality of our seafood and the promotion of our lobster around the world by the Lobster Fishers of Prince Edward Island Marketing Board. The PEIFA will continue to address issues as they arise and unfold.”
On shore, “our companies are in the process of getting plants up to speed,” said Bob Creed, executive director of the P.E.I. Seafood Processors Association (PEISPA).
“Workforce is key. We depend on immigrant labour, but we also have a small supply of local labour as well, so we will be ready for the spring season. Our companies are gearing up like every other year. We would have started the process for labour market impact assessment approval in late fall. Companies invest significant dollars, it’s a $1,000 per (immigrant) worker, a tremendous burden for companies, but that’s what the federal government charges the seafood sector. They don’t charge the agriculture sector anything.”
Like the rest of Atlantic Canada, Creed said the P.E.I. seafood sector “is kind of reeling and dealing with the tariff impositions from China and from the U.S. We’re all kind of dealing with this uncertainty. It’s unfortunate because in any business line it’s never good for investment or business confidence or company confidence. We’re just coming out of a high inflationary period, high interest rates. It was looking to be a tremendous year. All of sudden we have these trade issues. All industry really wants is a predictable, regulated, rules-based trading environment. That’s what we worked hard for the last three decades to develop. Businesses do well when those environments are in place.”
While the majority of P.E.I. lobster is processed, “we would have some suppliers sending live lobster from P.E.I. to China,” said Creed. “It would be a small amount compared to Nova Scotia, but everybody has their own diverse market penetration approach. One company might be dependant on the U.S. Another company their number one market could be the E.U. It depends on the company. We produce mainly processed lobster on P.E.I., but our companies also, when the opportunity presents and the market demands, do live lobster sales as well. We would send live lobster to the China. Also, some frozen in-shell product as well. Small amounts, but it was a growing area for us we thought as China consumers got used to understanding the value quality product we produced in our frozen product lines, whether it be in-shell or meat. There was potential for more growth in those product lines. That’s up in the air right now with the tariff.”
Creed said last season was a successful year for the P.E.I. lobster fishery with just under 47 million pounds landed, and a pretty good shore price. “The resource looks very sustainable. The fishermen in P.E.I. do a great job with DFO to ensure that there’s sustainability on the resource management approach.”
Creed said it’s well documented Canada will face economic pressures from the tariffs. “It’s a challenge for sure, but our companies are resilient, our industry is resilient. It’s going to be rough across the Atlantic region if the tariffs stay in place, but we’re determined to try and make a path through it. It’s important we work with both levels of government to identify market diversification opportunities. It will take time to develop those new markets.”
