Catches and Prices Steady
While the final tally isn’t in, indications are 2019 has been a successful year for Prince Edward Island lobster fishermen.
Bobby Jenkins, president of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA), said while he hasn’t seen any reports yet, from what he’s been hearing “everything is pretty positive as far as landings go,” in lobster fishing area (LFA) 25, which closed on October 10.
“The shore price was up from last year, not a significant amount, but a little bit better than what it was last year,” said Jenkins, with fishermen fetching $5 for canners and $5.50 for market size as the season was winding down.
“It could stand improvement,” said Jenkins adding in his opinion with LFA 25 the only LFA open that time of year “it should be little bit higher.”
Jenkins said landings during the spring fishery on P.E.I. were also good.
“In LFA 26a, the landings were up an all time high there,” he said. “Fishermen had really good landings there. LFA 24 was good too, just a few little areas where they were not as good as last year. Overall I think the spring fishery is up in 2019 compared to 2018.”
Jenkins said quality-wise, landings were “really good in the spring and from what I’m hearing, it’s really good this fall as well.”
There are also positive signs of recruitment, said Jenkins, noting both LFAs last spring moved on their own to increase the minimum carapace size.
So far, Atlantic right whales have not been an issue for P.E.I. lobster fishermen.
“Knock on wood, up to this point it seems to be more related to the snow crab fishery and not the lobster fishery,” said Jenkins. “We’re hoping they don’t move in on us in the spring, but you never know with these things.”
Jenkins said P.E.I. lobster fishers are “doing their due diligence as far as right whales go. There’s absolutely no floating rope in our fishery. Everything is sinking rope and in a lot of areas there’s a minimum of six traps a set so we’re reducing the amount of buoy lines,” adding as far as the lobster fishermen know, there have never been a whale entanglement with lobster gear in waters off P.E.I.
The recently closed LFA 25 is fished by 225 boats from P.E.I., 470 from New Brunswick and 16 from Nova Scotia.
According to DFO preliminary statistics for 2017 and 2018, lobster landings are up in volume and value in all LFAs in the Gulf region over the past 10 years.
In LFA 25, landings have more than doubled, going from 3,950 metric tonnes in 2009, to 8,571 tonnes in 2017 and 8,952 tonnes in 2018. The landed value has more than tripled, going from $25,680,000 in 2009 to $79,412,000 in 2018 and $94,539,000 in 2019
For LFAs 23, 24, 25, 26a and 26b combined, lobster landings in 2017 totalled 32,903 metric tonnes with a landed value of $438,379,000. The 2018 preliminary statistics show landings of 34,730 metric tonnes, with a landed value of 404,414,000.
