Record-setting shore prices this fall in lobster fishing area (LFA) 35 had fishermen in LFA 33 and 34 optimistic for a strong price when their season opened in late November.
“Everybody is puckered up for a pretty good price,” said Bernie Berry, president of the Coldwater Lobster Association.
In LFA 35, the season opened with a $9/pound shore price, with some buyers paying as much as $10 several weeks into the season.
“It’s the biggest price we’ve ever started out at,” said Colin Sproul, president of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association. “Catches are down a lot but the price is making a big difference.”
Berry said depending on who you are talking to and from what area, “catches could be down anywhere from 25 to 40 per cent,” noting the higher shore price is an indication of the markets being strong.
Last year, LFA 35 opened with a $7.50/pound shore price and as the other seasons opened up, LFAs 33, 34, 36 and 38, the shore prices paid were all within a 50-cent range, said Berry.
“I’m not saying its precedent setting but hopefully the same holds true this year,” he said. “We’re hoping for a big opening price. I’m not sure we will get $10 but we’re hoping for a big price.”
In LFAs 33 and 34 last year, the season opened at $7.50/pound, which quickly jumped to $9.
“Based on what’s happened in LFA 35 and Maine is up roughly a dollar per pound on their price, price-wise it looks very strong. If there are a few less lobsters, buyers here, overseas and in Asia will be more aggressive to get the product so that will help the price,” said Berry.
“The demand is tremendous,” said Sproul. “It has been good every year in China over the past decade or more and it’s projected to continue into the future — there are as many people entering the middle class and becoming lobster consumers as the entire population of Canada. That’s 30 million every year. They’re gaining a Canadian population of consumers every year. It’s a bottomless pit of demand for lobster. We need to be looking at strategies now to make sure we can as much as we can get.”
Leo Muise, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance, said one issue a high opening shore price will create is shutting out the processing sector. A $9/pound shore price is “too much” for the processors to pay, he said.
Going into the season, Berry said fishermen in southwestern Nova Scotia are keeping a close eye on the Atlantic right whale situation.
“There’s still 50 or so up in the Gulf,” he said. “They’re still hanging there because the water is warm and there’s still a lot of feed around. It’s something we have to concern ourselves with because those whales have to come by us to go down south.”
A right whale closure in the Bay of Fundy off Grand Manan was expected to be lifted just days before the LFA 38 fishery opened on Nov. 12.
Sproul said the closure didn’t have any impact on LFA 35. “There’s been no more sightings. Hopefully they are on their way down south.”
One issue fishermen in LFA 35 are really worried about, said Sproul, are plans to install more turbines in Grand Passage and possibly the Deep Passage in the future and the lack of consultation with the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association on any of it.
“It’s the same model as the last time,” said Sproul. “They’re choosing to marginalize fishermen’s views and meet directly with community members instead of accredited fishermen’s organizations that are supposed to represent their business interests. It’s a big concern. Nothing has changed in tidal energy development in the Bay of Fundy. Emera still has a thousand tonnes of garbage on the floor in the Minas Passage on some of the best lobster fishing grounds in all of LFA 35 and government won’t remove it. Now the government is offering it to somebody for free if they take it over. It’s ridiculous. It’s just outrageous.”
Sproul said the area is one of the most sacred places for Mi’kmaq people and probably one of the most productive lobster bottoms on earth and incredibly important to fishermen.
“It’s culturally, economically and environmentally significant and the government could care less, evidenced by the fact they let Emera walk away from it leaving a thousand tonnes of garbage on the sea floor and now they’re trying to pass the buck themselves to the next developer that comes along.”
